Left unattended since Saturday morning, dozens of animals inside an unfortunately located downtown pet store were rescued Wednesday evening when a group of friends took matters into their own hands.
Ahram Pet Store, located on Mohamed Mahmoud Street between Youssef al-Guindy and Falaky streets, is in the middle of where clashes have taken place between protesters and Egypt’s military and riot police. Heavy tear gas and loud explosive sounds have filled the air there for five consecutive days.
“When things broke out on Saturday I had to evacuate the store without hesitation,” said Hag Mohsen, the 65-year-old storeowner. “But then it never stopped, and I knew my pets were dying, without food and with the intense gas, and I was unable to get back there because of allergies and my fitness. I have been trying to get help since Sunday afternoon.”
Mohsen tried to feed the pets on Monday afternoon, but said he couldn’t stand the tear gas fumes.
Tweets soon appeared about the need to rescue the animals, some of which falsely reported that the Egyptian Society for Mercy to Animals (ESMA) had already rescued them. According to Mohsen, ESMA called him Wednesday morning to say rescuers were on their way, but various miscommunications and misinformation left Mohsen distressed.
Finally, a group of friends, led by Karim Molyneux-Berry and Hend Ghorab, went to the store and found that nothing had been done for the pets. They called directory services, obtained Mohsen’s mobile phone number, called him, got a car and rescued the animals all in the span of an hour.
“The streets were intense at around that time, but I knew we had to go or the animals would be all dead if they weren’t already,” said Molyneux-Berry, who went to the store around 4 pm. “It was frightening running back and forth with all these animals in the midst of gunshots and intense tear gas.”
Several dogs, cats, guinea pigs and birds were rescued. Most of them were suffering from severe eye damage and skin irritation, in addition to starvation. The fish were left behind.
“By that point the toxicity level in the water was too high and the fish wouldn’t make it, and there was no way for me to change the water,” lamented Mohsen, who was extremely saddened by their deaths.
The rescued animals were placed in a car and taken to a farm in Mariuteya, were they would be fed and given medical treatment.
According to Mahmoud al-Refai, a research associate at the Institute of Environmental Studies and Research at Ain Shams University, tear gas is far more hazardous to animals than to humans because they have inferior immune systems.
