ANIMAL welfare organisation K9 and Feline Friends needs 400,000 dhs a year to carry out its work and the annual Pedigree and Whiskas Pet Show is one its biggest single sources of sponsorship.
K9 Friends’ manager Jackie Ratcliffe urged pet lovers to attend the show at the Nad Al Sheba Club on February 10, where they will see an impressive parade of all that is best in man’s best friend.
“The pet show is a great chance to communicate to public and educate people about our work,” said Ratcliffe. “We have a big presence there and it helps us to increase our awareness and to be recognized as a organisation that benefits the whole community.
“From a marketing view of point it is the most important channel for publicity work and helps find new pet owners and helpers for our organisation.”
In the 17 years that the Pedigree and Whiskas Pet Show has supported K9 and Feline Friends, the organisation has benefited by hundreds of thousands of dirhams, enabling it to carry out its voluntary work in looking after abandoned pets, finding them new homes, reuniting lost pets with their owners, and educating the public about responsible pet ownership.
Last year alone, the pet show contributed 42,500 dhs for animal welfare.
More than 35,000 people are expected to visit – from across the UAE as well as neighbouring states, and more than 1,000 cats and dogs will be on show.
K9 and Feline Friends help by running the registration desk, and displaying the organisation’s own dogs. A nominal entry fee is charged for owners wishing to show their pets.
“This is a perfect platform to present our organisation, contact people directly and get them involved in our work,” said Ratcliffe. “The main aim for us is to find a permanent premises for our organisation as the number of stray and abandoned dogs has increased apace with the growing UAE population.
“We need too find a partner who supports us and give us a chance to stay on one place so that we can build a proper home for our dogs.”
K9 and Feline Friends regularly visit primary and secondary schools to educate children about responsible pet ownership. In turn, pupils support the organisation by donating pet food and materials.
With a time of five full-time staff and 15 volunteers, the organisation set up the first animal shelter in the Middle East and has found new homes for more than 2,000 dogs in the past four years alone.
“It is not imaginable how the community would look if we were not active here to get the dogs out of the streets,” said Ratcliffe. “We have also introduced a successful neutering program which has reduced the numbers of unwanted births.
“By attending the Pedigree and Whiskas Pet Show, animal-lovers are supporting our work and at the same we can spread the message about responsible ownership. If all pet owners behaved responsibly, there would be no need for our organisation to exist at all. In that sense we must be among the very few people who would dearly love to be out of a job!”
