Jordanian animal lover feeds over 5,000 of Kingdom’s stray dogs

AMMAN — Nader Abdulraheem, a Jordanian citizen, has become a savior for around 5,000 stray dogs across the Kingdom.

Abdulraheem started an initiative to feed stray dogs in all governorates seven years ago, which he now does on a daily basis.

“I started doing this seven years ago due to the suffering and cruelty stray dogs experience. Unfortunately, our society does not understand that these dogs are harmless and they are actually scared; many people try to poison them to get rid of them and much more,” Abdulraheem told The Jordan Times over the phone.

After videos of Abdulraheem and the dogs he feeds went viral on social media, he gained nearly 2,000 additional followers on TikTok. 

He said that he buys leftover meat from butchers and feeds the stray dogs from 9am to 6pm daily, going to a different governorate each day. “Stray dogs get food approximately once a week in each area, which is better than nothing,” he said.

Abdulraheem not only provides food for the stray dogs, but also medicine, vaccinations, or any type of treatment they need, he added.

“Our society needs more awareness regarding stray animals,” he said, adding that “stray dogs prevent many other animals like mice and snakes from going into residential areas”.

He called on the government to build a reserve for the stray dogs in a remote area, notingthat he only needs a piece of land and then he would take care of everything else for the dogs.

“I hope the government can provide more help to the stray dogs and I also wish people could be more merciful and understanding towards them,” Abdulraheem said. 

TikTok user Nizar Ahmad expressed his happiness with Abdulraheem’s initiative. “It is great to see we have such people in Jordan with great hearts,” he commented in Arabic.

Another user Diala Halbouni commented in English: “I am so proud of what you are doing, seeing how excited the dogs are is very precious.”