Story By: Alex Cope, Sub Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Central European News
This real-life Dr Dolittle English teacher has rescued more than 4,000 animals and lives with over 200 pets in her home in the United Arab Emirates.
Michelle Francis moved to the emirate of Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates in 2000 and began rescuing animals from the street when she was not working as an English teacher.
In 2004, she began feeding the stray animals in her neighbourhood and quickly began taking them into her home which she shared with her husband,
She would prepare the animals for adoption but quickly found that there were more strays than homes for them.
In 2010, she and her husband moved to a larger house and founded Animals & Us, a licenced not-for-profit organisation now called the Animals and Us Rescue and Care Facility, created to rescue stray animals.
Francis, who was born in the town of Adra in West Bengal, India as the eldest of six siblings, told reporters the couple still have the first dog they rescued name Ceejay, who has reached 14 years of age.
She says many of the dogs have been abused, such as Avina who had acid thrown on her by a man. Francis found the pooch “howling in pain” and took her to a vet in her arms. THe pooch was treated but 10 years on there are still parts of her fur which have not grown back.
The English teacher who works in Dubai has reportedly rescued 4,000 animals during her time in Fujairah. The rescues include cats, dogs, donkeys and foxes.
The family reportedly pay 80 percent of the running costs of the shelter themselves, with 6,700 AED (1,415 GBP) a month on rent and 16,000 AED (3,332 GBP) on diesel.
She says they receive food donations but still end up spending 10,000 AED (2,082 GBP) a month on food.
Her story was the focus of a 2019 documentary called Paw Prints directed by Nebula Karkada which was released at the Sharjah International Film Festival.
British ex-pat Angharad Irving-Jones has joined the team as a co-founder and said: “Animal rescue, rehabilitation and general animal welfare are among my top priorities. Since they have no voice, I wish to be their voice.”
The group now have several members and use social media to help spread awareness of their work and find homes for adoption.
The ViralTab page is created by and dedicated to professional, independent freelance journalists. It is a place for us to showcase our work. When our news is sold to our media partners, we will include the link here.
