Houssein Hamze was sleeping in his home one night when he woke up to the sound of a dog barking. Alarmed, he got up to check on the dog, his first rescue pet and moments later, a bomb dropped next to his home with a piece of shrapnel landing just where he had been sleeping moments earlier. The attack was a part of Israel’s 2006 war against Hezbollah and Hamze had just escaped death by mere seconds. “I swear to god, he really saved me from death. Animals always possess a sixth sense we don’t have,” he said to The Guardian.Twenty years and two wars later, the 57-year-old is still repaying his debt to the dog who saved his life. Soon after the near-death experience, Hamze founded the Mashala shelter in the village of Zefta, south Lebanon in order to take care of the animals in the area. In normal times he takes in strays, and in wartime he is the only lifeline for animals in the area.The donation-supported farm hosts an eclectic collection of rescues. Along with 200 dogs, Hamze has even saved two camels, horses, ravens, chickens and geese. “This is Jamoola and her son, Jamool. She is so sweet. When I don’t visit for more than two days, she starts to cry. And when I come back, she wraps her neck around me as if she’s hugging me,” he said of the two camels, he rescued from the Bekaa valley last year.
