Pakistani expat helps British family find missing dog in UAE

Sharjah - They had made an appeal on social media.

A newly relocated British family received a warm UAE welcome after a Pakistani expat helped them reunite with their pet dog, who went missing two days ago.

The family of Lisa Sykes arrived in the UAE from Geneva before midnight on Wednesday with their three-year-old male Toy Poodle named Buddy. But the following morning, Buddy went missing. "He must have escaped from the gate that was opened for a moment when I moved our car," Lisa told Khaleej Times.

What followed next was a frantic search around the community in Al Nassiyah Area in Sharjah.  Lisa and her two children - Hebe, 10, and Sidney, 9, - made an appeal on social media, while her husband, Keith, talked to taxi drivers, people in shops, nearby market and mosques. The family also got help from a local animal welfare group. Posters and flyers were distributed and the family offered a Dh2,000 reward to find Buddy.

Good news reached the Sykes family on Saturday night after a Pakistani expat called and said he had found their beloved pet at the fish market opposite Al Jubail bus station in Sharjah.

"Abid from Pakistan, who has been living in the UAE for 12 years, helped us find Buddy," Lisa said.

She was doubly surprised when the worker refused to take the cash reward. "He (Abid) said he was just happy to bring Buddy back. We had to force him to take the money. He's such a good man," an emotional Lisa told Khaleej Times after carrying her pet back in her arms.

Lisa said Buddy is a survivor. He was rescued as a puppy in Italy and brought to Geneva when the Sykes family moved to Switzerland three years ago. Buddy looked frightened and was dehydrated when found close to the fish market in Sharjah, quite far from home, but is otherwise healthy.

angel@khaleejtimes.com

• Sharjah