True animal lovers will stop at nothing to help an animal in need.
Norashikin Ahmad created a small shelter, called Shikin Shelter, for abandoned animals next to her home back in 2014, and when a video of her rescuing an injured stray dog in a drain went viral, many people praised her actions. Unfortunately, she also faced harsh criticism for touching a dog with her bare hands. Many Muslim scholars discourage the touching of dogs, particularly dogs that are wet, but doing so to save a life is permissible as long as the proper purification process is used. However, as this rescuer explains, she did have gloves initially but after coming face to face with animals, did not think they were needed.
Even though she has to travel to a mosque all the way over in the next village to pray because she is not welcome at the one right outside her house, she remains undeterred. Her thriving shelter now houses approximately 120 cats and about 50 dogs with the no sign of slowing down.
Ahmad quotes her late father’s words as inspiration, “He told me that we should help anyone or anything that needs to be helped. It does not matter if it is a cat, a dog or any other animal in need. If we have the ability to help it, then we should.”
Ahmad’s relationship with her mom was also strained for some time. “Many people feel it is not appropriate me to touch food after touching dogs as it is considered unclean,” she went on to explain. “At one point my mother could no longer take what the residents were saying and told me to leave and take my dogs and cats with me. Eventually, she accepted what we were doing when she saw how we rescued a dog that was in pain, nursed it back to health and eventually gave it away for adoption. But it took time.”
We absolutely love how fearless Ahmad is despite the rising challenges she faces. She shows us that doing what is right trumps everything else.
If you would like to follow Ahmad’s work and keep up to date with recent rescues, follow the Shikin Shelter Facebook page.
Image Source: YouTube │ via: www.onegreenplanet.org
