KARACHI: A year after being brutally maimed by a landlord who chopped off her leg in Sanghar district of Pakistan’s southern Sindh province, Cammie the camel walked again Tuesday morning on all four legs with the help of a prosthetic limb, creating a euphoric feeling among her caregivers.
Cammie’s first steps came after a long period of intensive rehabilitation at the Karachi shelter of the CDRS Benji Project for Animal Welfare, which collaborated with a US-based prosthetics firm and received support from the provincial government to provide the young camel with a new limb.
“Today I am ecstatic,” Sarah Jahangir, Director of CDRS Benji Project, told Arab News. “I don’t have words for how happy I am seeing Cammie stand up on her prosthetic.”
“I am so proud of my team,” she continued.
Jahangir also expressed gratitude to Senator Qurat-Ul-Ain Marri and her sister, Shazia Marri, a national lawmaker from Sindh, for their support.
“I can’t thank both enough for rescuing Cammie, and trusting us and supporting us wholeheartedly.”
Cammie had wandered into a private field in Sanghar last year in search of food when a landlord, enraged by the intrusion, hacked off her front leg with a sharp weapon.
The incident led to public outcry that forced the state to intervene. Authorities filed an animal cruelty case against the landlord, arresting five people under Pakistan’s rarely enforced animal rights laws.
The prosthetic leg, specially designed by Virginia-based Bionic Pets, was delivered two months ago. Cammie’s medical team had waited for both her physical wound to heal and for her mental readiness before fitting the limb.
“She was a very scared, nervous little child,” said Sheema Khan, the shelter manager, who was crying on Tuesday when Cammie took her first steps with the new leg.
To help her emotionally overcome, Cammie was paired with another rescued camel, Callie, who became her emotional companion. Their friendship proved vital: on the night Callie arrived, Cammie stood up on her own for the first time in months.
However, the wounded camel couldn’t walk until the moment arrived on Tuesday morning.
“Seeing Cammie stand on her own is vindication of months of dedicated hard work,” Senator Qurat-Ul-Ain Marri told Arab News.
“When this tragic incident first occurred, my sister, the elected MNA from Sanghar, was appalled… With the help of the Sindh Government and the selfless volunteers at CDRS Benji, we resolved to bring her back on her feet, and today we have managed that. Allah has been most kind.”
