Payam Mohebi, the star veterinarian of Tehran, Iran, is running for city council and the election is this Friday. He may win or get 60 lashes. Mohebi is shown on campaign posters with a stray dog. Ruling Iranian clerics consider dogs impure. Taking one for a walk can get an owner arrested and the dog seized and perhaps killed.
Source: New York Times, May 16, 2017 (paywall).
Dr. Mohebi has spent most of his life fighting for animal rights – or to be more precise, fighting for the right of people to have pets in their houses. In 2002, he started Tehran’s first pet hospital at a time when few people there had dogs and cats. Now, he is planning to open a 10-story clinic in West Tehran that will be one of the largest in the Middle East.
INSIGHTS: Lest you take that privately funded or tax-supported dog park or free long walk for granted, read this article. You’ll appreciate the privileges more than you did yesterday.