As my health improves, I pay some attention to the television monitor in the recovery room of the animal hospital. I had watched BBC News with Anwar many times and I hear with crushing sorrow, so great I query if you can feel my heart breaking, that Anwar has been executed as a traitor to Egypt. An article or two critical of the current government and he is a doomed seditionist!
I am so sad I want to crawl up and die. My master killed like a street dog.
My friends tell me we are travelling to a distant land called Canada. I have seen a few BBC documentaries on Canada. I remember snow and terrible cold. But I am so devastated and unhappy about Egypt if I can escape this murderous nation to both humans and dogs I have hope.
There was a Canadian woman in our hospital and she pointed to me as a refugee for rescue. I think a refugee is some creature that has no home to welcome it. I am contemplating a new life with people that care and respect me. I do not want to be beaten, kicked and spat on. I have the ancient blood of the Pharaohs in me. If I go to this strange land I will bring the Pharaohs’ spirit with me.
Many of us are excited about this strange land Canada. I tell my dog friends that from what I know about Canada from the BBC news and documentaries I have seen that it is a calm country. There are no big demonstrations and bloody confrontations like there are here in Egypt. These Canadians respect dogs much more than in Egypt, I hope!
There is some talk I hear from the Canadian lady at our hospital that there are many Canadian humans waiting to help us. Some dogs are so frightened by a bad rumour we are going to be made into sausages in Canada. I tell them based on BBC broadcasts this is impossible as Canadians are compassionate.
We are selected for transport to Canada. We have been spayed, deloused and undergone parasitic treatment.
The big day has come. We are transported in a big truck to the airport in Cairo as we await our flight to Toronto. We are given a last walk and have a chance to pee and poo and we are given some chopped goat meat that makes us very sleepy. We are placed in cages and placed in what I know as an airplane from the BBC news I have seen. I hear people talking in English we have all be given sedatives that make us sleep and reduce our anxiety.
We are very sleepy and do not pay attention to the dark and cool place we are placed in the airplane. There is a veterinarian from Canada on the airplane called Dr. Murray who sits with us for 12 hours until we arrive in Toronto and makes sure we are let out of our cages so we can do our business.
So we arrive and there are foster parents who will help us get acclimatized to this strange country. Are foster parents new masters and mistresses? Many are crying being so happy to see us safe and they try and hug us and tell us we are safe. We are smart street dogs and can’t simply trust humans that have abused us. I try to bark out that I think we are safe. We are in CANADA. A country that loves dogs. We have hope. Where are the families that will take care of us?
Set the Bar 