By Sanaa Kamal
Ramallah - Munzer al-Jaabari, a Hebron-based Palestinian man, has kept posting short videos on TikTok about training his German shepherd "Lucy," which has attracted over 30 000 followers and harvested more than 3.2 million likes during the past two years.
"I feel that I am on the right way to achieving my primary goal of changing the negative view in my society towards dogs and pet owners," the 32-year-old blogger told Xinhua.
Al Jaabari came up with the idea in late 2020 when he noticed some residents thought that dog breeders were "violating customs and traditions," and they considered dogs "unclean and should not be approached." Some people even abused stray animals.
"Animals, in particular dogs, are intelligent, and humans can develop their skills for benefit," he said. Thus thinking, al-Jaabari filmed dozens of short videos about playing and training Lucy in a bid to gain more local supporters.
@munther.jabari طريقة تعليم السلام لكلب او للبس واهم اشي الصبر #🥰![CDATA[]]>🥰![CDATA[]]>🥰![CDATA[]]>🥰![CDATA[]]>🥰![CDATA[]]>🥰![CDATA[]]>🥰 #منذر_ملك_تدريب_الكلاب ♬ original sound - King_Panjshiir
He also shared videos teaching how to raise pets, especially stray dogs.
"Being patient and giving positive reinforcement are the best ways to train dogs. Offering them a reward as soon as they accomplish your order, while if they do not do well, the punishment should not be in a harsh manner," he added.
After two years of continuous training, Lucy can deliver water to him and even buy some stuff from the grocery store, Al Jaabari explained.
The blogger's video encouraged Maha Ahmed, a Ramallah-based young woman, who raises a stray dog that was beaten by a group of children.
Initially, she disliked dogs, considering them a source of risk, but later on, her thoughts changed as she became aware more of the benefits of adopting stray animals for the local community.
@munther.jabari في الزمن هاد رحمة لكلاب احسن بكتير من رحمة البشر #🥰![CDATA[]]>🥰![CDATA[]]>🥰![CDATA[]]>🥰![CDATA[]]>🥰![CDATA[]]>🥰![CDATA[]]>🥰 #منذر_ملك_تدريب_الكلاب ♬ Surrender - Natalie Taylor
"Al-Jaabari encouraged me to take care of the animals, mainly the stray dogs," the 36-year-old doctor told Xinhua.
There are no accurate statistics on the number of pets in Palestine, nor is there a law for animal protection in the Palestinian territories, only a proposal raised years ago by "Palestinian Society for Animal Welfare," an animal rights advocacy group in the West Bank that calls for detailed legislation for animal welfare.
Al-Jaabari says he aspires to establish a shelter in the West Bank to protect and save the animals from violence, torture and killing.