Where to Go - Planet Animal

Firstly, I apologize for the absence in posting in the past week. It has been a very long, and very stressful past few days for me. I hope to update on how and why in the coming period. Anyhow, moving on!

A few weeks back, I was asked by EgyPuppy, an up and coming company in Egypt, to review their shop. Well, last time I was in Cairo, I went in. The first thing you are met by are sales clerks sat at a computer with revolving monitors, presumably from which you can select your puppy that you plan to import.

They have supplies, but use the excuse that because most of the products are imported they can charge outrageous prices for them. (I saw one pack of Beggin Strips, on sale in the U.S. for under 2 $, marked at a price of close to 15 U.S. dollars. I mean come on, there's costs for importation...and then there's costs for importation. Echs). Needless to say, EgyPuppy, I'm sorry, I cannot recommend your location or services.

I realised that with all my postings on animal rights in Egypt, and where you shouldn't purchase your pet supplies from, I have neglected to suggest any locations that are decent!

To provide a contrast to EgyPuppy, let's look at Planet Animal in Hurghada.

Located on Maderis Street, the first thing that strikes you about Planet Animal is ... wait for it .... there are no animals for sale inside the shop! Three cheers!!

Planet Animal is run by two friends who have dedicated themselves to providing access to reliable and affordable dog toys, cat toys, the average medicine, and supplies.

Orien says "Treat Please!"

In the store you can find dog and cat food of various varieties and price ranges, including locally made Egyptian Kibble to imported Pedigree selections.

They have a good array of dog chew toys and rawhides, as well as cat toys and snacks.

Planet Animal offers dog leads, harnesses, and collars, in a host of materials including nylon and leather. They offer cat houses and the scratching posts.

If you're looking for worming or flea supplies, Planet Animal also has all of this on offer. You can choose from products imported from Germany (and still within a reasonable price range), or even request that a specific product you are looking for be shipped in.

For more information or to find out if Planet Animal has what you're looking for, call 011 211 344 51, or visit their location at 457 Maderis Street. Tell them Egypt Unbound sent you their way, and get a 10 % discount! 

Avoid Amazon Pet Shop

This blog is directed towards residents of Hurghada, however anyone reading this can garner a valuable lesson.

Amazon Pet Shop is located on Sherry Street, near the main road Shara Sheraton that runs directly through downtown Hurghada.

Amazon used to have a twin pet-shop on Shara Central, which thankfully has been shut down.

I have been into this pet shop on a number of occasions, and it seems that every time I go in there, the conditions have worsened. The last time I was in there, I managed to snap some pics with my phone. Apologies for the poor quality, but at least you can see the decrepit conditions that these animals are kept in.

The most egregious abuse of animals I have seen in this shop was a gorgeous 5 month old husky puppy, who was in a crate inside the store. The crate that she was kept in was so small, that she was forced to lie in her own feces and urine. I actually watched her try to find a place to relieve herself that she wouldn't have to step in, and she couldn't. Barely even able to spin circles in her crate, this poor husky was going for a high bid of 7,000 LE (current exchange rate puts that at 1,174 US $). Worse than the fact she was in a crate about 4 times too small for her, was that next to her stood a crate that was MORE than large enough. Inside this crate? A cat. I wish I was joking. When I inquired from the employee in the shop why he didn't move the husky, his response was that "she made too much noise trying to escape from the larger crate." Ok, brilliant, so we'll just keep her in conditions that she can't even move in. No problem right? It took all my self-control not to thump the guy in his head, as he would have deserved.

This picture below shows one of the cages that the dogs are kept in. Although I know that the picture quality make this difficult to see, but what you are seeing inside are FOUR Shepherd pups, plus one Griffon. FIVE DOGS in this small cage. Climbing all over each other in their own excrement. In the cage above them sit two cats, the cream one was a Persian cross, whose eyes had so much gunk around them that she couldn't even open them.

You can see the cage is quite small

4 Shepherd pups and 1 Griffon shoved together

Animal rights groups would swarm into a pet shop in the West if these violations were witnessed. At least 70 percent of the cats that they have for "sale" inside this pet shop are evidently sick. With mucous coming out of their eyes, and clearly lethargic, the employee will actually tell you with a straight face that they are "just tired," and that the problems with their eyes is "not because they are sick, but because they have been sleeping." Walk into this pet shop on any given day, and you will find purebred labs, Belgian shepherd pups, I've even seen a dalmatian for sale inside. All of these purebred dogs will carry a price tag of no less than 3,000 LE (except for the recent batch of shepherd pups which are going for 1,500 LE - guess the market is suffering!). Most of these dogs are the product of breeders, who will recklessly breed any animal that looks pure simply to attach a price tag to its head. I heard of a breeder who lives near me who has pit bull pups for sale. When I asked if they are kept outside, I was told that they are kept in an apartment, with no less than 7 animals inside. Unfortunately I have not been able to personally go and see this apartment, but I dread to think of what it looks like on the inside. It is people like this that are providing this pet shop with their animals for sale, who do not care in the slightest about the health of their animals, it's all about the paycheque at the end of the day.

Unfortunately, for me to go in and actually purchase some of these animals will only further the breeding trade. To actually change these disgusting conditions requires a boycott of Amazon pet shops, and pet shops in similar conditions throughout Egypt.

This poor pup (about 4 months old) didn't even have the
strength to get up and say hi. She's kept leashed like this day and night. 

In addition to a boycott of similar pet shops, it is now the time to work towards implementing legislation in Egypt that will prevent similar shops from cropping up. I am not naive enough to think that this will happen overnight. It will require an education campaign, alongside actual enforcement. It is a long road, but with the increasing activism being witnessed in Egypt these days, it is no longer just a dream but an actual possibility that animals in Egypt may one day be protected.

I have not been able to independently verify this information, however have been told from a number of sources that Amazon pet shop was owned by two European women, one from the UK, and one from Russia. Whether or not they are still in charge, since the end of the revolution, I am not sure. I welcome any hints and/or tips that will help me in firstly figuring out who owns this disgrace of a pet shop, and where they are getting their animals from. Until that point, I urge everyone to BOYCOTT Amazon pet shop.

If you are in Hurghada and are looking for a decent pet shop, I recommend Doolittle Zoo. Located on the road just behind Metro Market on Shara Sheraton, the owner, Mr. Esam, has grown up around animals and you can evidently see inside his pet shop that the animals are well cared for. Yes, he has pups for sale, but they are not caged, they are in their own play pen area, and are evidently healthy. To compare one shop to the other really shows that Amazon is an absolutely disgusting example of a pet shop. Doolittle also offers imported pet products for sale. Mr. Esam is there most days throughout the week, and is always more than willing to offer advice and help with animal issues. I get all of my supplies from Doolittle for Orien :).