As FOUR PAWS continues our mission to bring emergency care to stray animals in Lebanon, let’s look back at our previous work in the country.

After an explosion at the Port of Beirut in 2020, many pets were immediately reported missing, and their owners searched for them relentlessly in the months that followed. Within a few weeks, our FOUR PAWS team was actively working on the ground to help reunite pets with their families and treat animals in need. Our vets treated injuries and provided preventative care, and our team delivered an emergency supply of food to strays. During this mission, over 100 surgeries were performed, and many of the treated animals were able to be reunited with their families.

A cat named Antar disappeared shortly after the explosion at the Port in Beirut, and when we arrived in Lebanon, his family hadn’t seen him for over a month. They feared that he might not survive out on the streets alone after the explosion caused him to run away.

Meanwhile, FOUR PAWS was granted a space in the Mar Mikheal neighbourhood of Beirut where we set up an animal care service tent for the community. Our team had been feeding animals we found on the streets and providing care for injured animals.

One day, a black and white cat showed up near our tent, and though he was quite skittish at first, our team gained his trust and provided him with lifesaving food and water. We learned that the cat was Antar and were able to reunite him with his family. It seemed that Antar knew the right place to come for help, and we were so happy to be able to facilitate this special reunion!

Dog Bella and her family lived very close to the Port of Beirut, and they were home during the horrible explosion. Since that time, Bella had been having trouble breathing properly, and at times, she would wheeze and cough, just trying to breath in some air.

Bella’s family brought her to our team in Beirut, and once our vets had a chance to look at Bella’s x-rays, they realised that her lungs were damaged, likely from inhaling dust after the explosion. Our team treated Bella and continued to monitor her for risks of complications. Since Bella’s recovery period would be long, our vets also helped the family plan for her long-term care.

In December 2019, FOUR PAWS conducted an emergency mission to care for several wild animals kept in two zoos in the south of Lebanon. Our team of wildlife veterinarians and animal keepers supported the zoos with medical care and appropriate food while working on a long-term solution for the animals, which included two Syrian Brown bears.

It was on this first trip to Lebanon in 2019 that FOUR PAWS and Dr. Khalil first met and examined the Beirut Bears. Trapped in tiny cages, which were smaller than a ping-pong table, the bears had no water, sporadic food, and inadequate shelter from the weather. They not only suffered from malnutrition but also extreme stress and displayed severe behavioral disorders. When our team saw the dire condition of the bears, they attempted to turn the aid mission into a rescue mission, and plans to relocate the bears got under way. However, efforts were hampered by numerous challenged in and outside of Lebanon. Because of intense political unrest, the beginning of boarder shutdowns due to COVID-19, and then the horrific explosion at the Port of Beirut, plans were thwarted. FOUR PAWS continued to provide medical care and nutrition for the 18-year-old bears while working tirelessly to arrange for their transport to a species appropriate home. 

Finally, in July of 2021, FOUR PAWS was able to bring the bears, renamed Homer and Ulysses in honor of the long, courageous journey they would undertake, to their forever home at The Wild Animal Sanctuary in Colorado. After flying from Lebanon, through Dubai to Chicago, the bears were driven the rest of the way to the species-appropriate sanctuary.

An animal could not find a better home in the US than The Wild Animal Sanctuary’s Wild Animal Refuge, which has 9,719 acres of Colorado wilderness where rescued animals can live out their lives in peace. The Refuge, which is an extension of The Wild Animal Sanctuary in Keenesburg, Colorado, is the largest carnivore sanctuary in the world and home to rescued bears, tigers, lions, wolves, and more.    

Homer and Ulysses were first acclimated in an outdoor quarantine space where caretakers could assess their health and allow the severely underweight bears to gain weight. Then, when they were ready, the two bears were released into 103 acres of open wilderness at the sanctuary. A truly happy ending to a very long journey for Homer and Ulysses!