Bring Our Sweet Rescue Puppy Safely to the US

Hi, we are Ali and Erik, a multi-national couple who recently traveled to Egypt and fell in love with our sweet street dog, Rami!

While walking around, we came across a tiny puppy about to be run over by a car. We had no plan but knew we couldn't leave her. We snuck her into a grocery bag and brought her into our hostel where we were able to offer her some food, a bath, and a safe place to sleep.

We spent the day calling every shelter and vet we could find in Egypt. We joined Egyptian Facebook groups, reached out to Egyptian friends, posted online, and did everything in our power to find her a safe place to stay.

With no luck, we had no choice but to bring her back to where we found her. This, while already the most difficult thing we've had to do, was made even more difficult when we saw the danger she was facing. We had to chase her to stop prevent her from running into traffic on multiple occasions, had to pull bigger dogs off of her, watched her start to eat trash, and so on. Rami did not appear to have the size, strength, or mentality of the other 17 million Egyptian street dogs. She began following us around, crying and clawing at my leg when other dogs approached her, crying and begging to be picked up. As I sat crying on the curb, Rami approached me, nuzzled into my shoulder, then crawled into my lap and began sleeping. She had already decided she was coming home with us. Due to her tiny size, she stood no chance on the streets and had multiple wounds from the other dogs. The first vet we took her to confirmed this, stating she would have died had we left her on the streets.

The rest of our trip was spent bouncing back and forth between vets and shelters trying to figure out what to do. Unfortunately, due to her lack of vaccinations and being from a high-risk rabies country, she is not allowed to enter the US or Denmark, and we had no choice but to leave her in Egypt. Luckily, we left her with an amazing vet who has been taking great care of her.

Now, as we look forward to the next steps, we are faced with the harsh reality of the costs associated with bringing her to the US with the current ban on dogs from Egypt. We have two options: move her to a shelter until August while we wait for all her test results, or pay $3,400 (in addition to the costs of her travel) to get her imported and boarded in LA this June through a special rabies program.

While expensive, we are desperate to avoid putting her into a shelter. This shelter already has 500 dogs, all of which have been plucked off the streets. She will live outside in dirt, surrounded by dogs that have never been socialized or shown real love. The risks of injury will remain. She will have no bed. She will have limited human interaction. She will have to toughen up. While safer than the streets, she will not be in an environment we feel comfortable leaving her in.

While we are both fully prepared to undertake the expenses of having a dog, we are both full-time students with minimal incomes. In addition, Erik is planning on moving to the USA with me in June, which carries its own fair share of expenses. Therefore, we are turning to our community for support. We are grateful for the support of our friends and family during this huge period of change.

Every donation helps. We are so grateful for your love and support. We cannot wait to have Rami back with us and thank you for taking the time to read

our message.

Love,

Ali and Erik

(and sweet baby girl Pastrami)

P.S. You can also venmo me at @alimarsh13 !! Thank you<3