Dogs rule. It's an indisputable fact of the universe. There's nothing like coming home after a long day's work (or night's worth of partying) and having a canine pal who is just super stoked to see you, no matter what else happened that day or how intoxicated you are. A serious issue for dog owners everywhere, though, is that when you want to take a vacation, it's not always plausible to bring your pooch with you. That, and it's not always the easiest to train them when all you want to do is rub their bellies and eat pizza together. Kelabi is serving Cairo's dogs and their human friends by servicing those two serious issues.
It's one thing to obsess over photos of cute puppies online – guilty as charged – but real dog lovers are the one's who'll go rub a baladi dog's belly or go adopt a puppy from a shelter. Above and beyond the typical dog-lover call of duty, Sally Adly and Mahmoud Tarif started the Kelabi Dog Boarding Centre – because as much as you need your vacation, your dog probably needs a vacation away from you. So while you're out bathing on the beaches of some exotic island, your dog is probably having even more fun among 20-25 other canine companions – socialising, making new friends, possibly meeting a girlfriend or a boyfriend... Sorry. You still matter, of course, but as Tarif tells us, "It's really important to focus on the psychology and socialisation of dogs. The boarding is for the dogs, and the training is for the owners." That's right, y'all need to learn how to sit, roll over, and let the dogs out.
Another thing the centre does besides taking care of the cute creatures is facilitating dog adoption. For some time now, Adly founded and has been involved in the Cairo Puppies Adoption Program (CPAP), an initiative that started two years ago, aiming to rescue baladi dogs, and find them safe homes, something now mirrored at Kelabi. Until adoption day comes, though, Tarif tells us about the services they provide the dogs at their centre: “We make sure they get enough outdoor time, exercise, all sanitary and dietary needs, and enough interaction time.” And honestly, this couple sounds like the fairy godparents of all dogs. We're just wondering if they can make a service for us to drop by and see the doggies, gush at them, squirm, then kiss their faces forever.Tarif assures us that “most people are actually happy with their dogs after we take care of them. And they see how dogs can change if they’re treated the right way. Dogs are not incapable, or difficult by nature. That’s very rare. And owners need to learn how to deal with them, because once they do, they will realise they are the most fascinating creatures!”