Why more Egyptians are adopting the 'Baladi' dog

Welcome to the Rescue Tails podcast, the show dedicated to helping you settle your adopted rescue dog. In this episode I chat with Amina El Shazly about the changing perception of stray dogs in Egypt and why more people are opting to adopt rather than shop. Amina is the co-founder of Leaf Animals, an organisation that helps alleviate the pressure on rescue centres and individuals by helping them find forever homes for the animals in their care.Amina did her masters thesis on Egypt's Baladi dog (Baladi is the term used to refer to strays in Egypt. It translates to 'my country' but unfortunately the term is now often used to describe things that are tacky or unwanted). Through her research she found that these animals were once very highly regarded by ancient Egyptians and often even buried with them. She explains how the stigma of adopting Baladi dogs and cats is starting to die down slowly. I'm half Egyptian and I lived in Egypt for 18 years so I've seen first hand how dreadful life can be for Egypt’s stray animals with everything from sanctioned poisoning campaigns to pet abandonment and road accidents.Awareness and interest in animal welfare in Egypt is on the rise and more people are choosing to adopt rather than shop. However, there is still an informational gap and many people struggle to settle their adopted rescue. I'm sure the work Amina and many others are doing will change this over time.  As always, I hope you enjoy this episode and if you'd like me to cover specific topics on future episodes of the podcast, drop me an email at [email protected].