Meet Maggi and also Awrang – Nowzad’s amazing dog whisperer!
Life for an animal on the streets in Kabul is particularly hard during the bitterly cold winter months, when food, water and shelter is scarce. But last winter, when Maggi was found, was an especially brutal one.
One night last November, a local shopkeeper was walking home late when he almost tripped over a tiny living, breathing object cowering in the blizzard at the side of the alleyway. Kneeling down to see what it was, he found a tiny, shivering puppy on the brink of survival, no bigger than his two hands cupped together. He immediately called out our Nowzad vet team who picked her straight up. We think this tiny ball of matted hair and blood had been mauled by other dogs, with deep weeping wounds all over her body infested with maggots.
Hence her new name – Maggi.
Dr. Reshad and Pen worked all through that night, gently cleaning Maggi’s wounds and removing the parasites one-by-one.
Somehow Maggi survived. Understandably she was very timid and fearful after her ordeal, but still managed to pick her head up for food and even wag her tail.
Awrang, our hospital’s incredible dog trainer and someone who has loved dogs all his life (not always very common in Afghan society), then began working with her to build her confidence and trust. Awrang’s approach is simple – kindness, consistency, and understanding. He never forced Maggi; he coaxed her, slowly introducing her to other dogs in our exercise yard, rewarding her tentative steps with gentle praise and treats. He showed her that not all dogs were a threat, that play could be joyful, and that humans could be trusted too.
Maggi’s transformation has been incredible and highlights our mission: to rescue, rehabilitate, and rehome animals in need. Awrang’s input into this has been invaluable.
But – we are looking to build a second exercise yard this year to help Awrang with his socialisation work – please click Nowzad.com > Donate if you would like to donate to this, or any of Nowzad’s other animal welfare work. And watch this space for news on our progress!
It’s because of this amazing Nowzad family that we run this emergency hospital for animals, 24 hours a day, and can create opportunities and space for healing. Thank you for your unwavering support.
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