ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Stray dogs are considered a menace and a public health issue by many in the Kurdistan Region, leading the animals to experience much abuse and suffering. One Erbil dog shelter, run by volunteers, is trying to give them the care they deserve.

"With the help of the governor of Erbil, and Animal Friends of Kurdistan, we created this shelter in 2019," head of the shelter Ashti Falakadin Kakaiy told Rudaw on Monday.

The ten volunteers at the Erbil Animal Shelter for Homeless and Disabled Dogs Spay/Neuter Center bring food for the dogs every day, and facilitate the animals getting regular check-ups by a medical veterinary team.

Kakaiy says they receive material support from a number of international organizations.

Most dogs in Iraqi Kurdistan are stray, and have to work hard on the daily to stay alive. They are often shooed away, beaten, hit with sticks and killed by cars. Many people are afraid of them, or fear they bring diseases.

Kakaiy says the shelter is currently home to 200 stray dogs, including some who are amputees.

"Very much like humans, they fear anxiety and loneliness," Renee Water Seville, who volunteers at the shelter, told Rudaw. "You don't have to love them, but don't harm them."