TRIPOLI: When evacuated foreigners left hundreds of pets behind at the outbreak of Libya’s 2011 revolution, Tripoli vet Jalal Kaal braved missiles, militia checkpoints and long terrifying drives to reunite them with their owners.
“If I had to, I would do it again,” says Kaal, a tall, slim 50-year-old man with smiling eyes. When the popular uprising against former ruler Muammar Qaddafi broke out in February 2011, many foreigners had to leave suddenly and were unable to take their pets with them, Kaal explains.
In the chaos of the evacuations of diplomats and foreign workers four years ago, several called him from the airport to ask if he could collect their pets and take them in.
As Qaddafi’s regime cracked down on protesters in and around the capital, Kaal and an assistant drove to several neighborhoods to find the stranded animals.
Libya vet vows to reunite pets with their owners
Libya vet vows to reunite pets with their owners
