Socializing a Stray Puppy from Streets of Cairo
By Nicole Pajer
While visiting family in Cairo, Egypt, Teymour El Tahry spotted a stray puppy hiding underneath a car near the apartment complex he was staying at. Several days later, the stray dog was still there and his sister urged him to take her in and care for her. “It seemed like she was separated from her pack and she didn’t look like she was in great shape,” explains Teymour. Honoring his sister’s wishes, Teymour lured the pup out with food and took her to the vet. The veterinarian estimated that the puppy was between 8 and 12 weeks old and that she had a bad case of worms.
Teymour decided to keep the dog for a while and nurse her back to health before finding her a good home. The apartment complex that he was staying at had a strict no-dog policy so Teymour and his sister hid the dog in the bathroom, eventually getting busted. “I tried to find her a home in Cairo but no one wanted a street dog,” says Teymour who explains that by this point he had grown very attached to the dog, which he named Izzy. “I was listening to Izabella just prior to seeing her for the first time. I liked the song and she was a fiery one so it seemed appropriate,” he explains.
The next step was to figure out how to get Izzy back to the United States. “Prior to leaving Egypt, I did a bunch of running around to get permits for her to travel. She was under 3 months, so she didn't need all of her vaccinations. She flew on the plane just fine. It was funny, when I went through customs, the agent didn't even look into her cage. She just came on through,” explains Teymour.
When Teymour got back to Michigan, he had his work cut out for him; socializing a stray street dog was not a simple feat. “Getting her off the street was easy. She was hungry, so she was easily lured in with some food. The problem was socializing her. She wasn't social with dogs or humans. In fact, she was terrified of both. So getting her to trust me and the rest of my family was a challenge.”
One of the first things Teymour noticed was how different Izzy was than his sister’s Weimaraner, Plato. “Plato was much more social than Izzy. Izzy liked her space and exhibited a cat-like personality at times.” Determined to train Izzy, Teymour sought out the help of a dog trainer. The dog trainer dedicated himself to socializing and working with Izzy until she learned to trust life outside of the streets. “The trainer really helped me understand how to train Izzy, what to expect from her, and how to deal with a dog with such primal instincts,” explains Teymour.
Although it took years to fully socialize and domesticate Izzy, Teymour considers rescuing her to be one of the best decisions he ever made. “Seeing her grow and overcome her fears has been the best part,” he explains.
Teymour attributes raising Izzy to helping him grow and mature as a person. “I was kind of all over the place before Iz. Once I took her in I, for the first time, was responsible for something besides myself,” he says, joking that although his family and friends were supportive of his decision to rescue Izzy, they didn’t think he’d be able to take care of her for more than a year. “Seven years later, four moves, and three cities later, she's still with me.”
