DUBAI - Charlie Bannan found Duke, a pug abandoned in an empty villa without air-conditioning, and the encounter shifted something fundamental in how he saw the animals being left behind across the UAE. The couple took Duke in. Two years later, he is still part of their family. That single rescue set the stage for a partnership that would eventually give dozens of other animals a second chance.
The Bannans, a British couple living in Dubai, have committed to rehoming more than 50 animals in collaboration with established rescue organizations K9 Friends and Animals & Us, Fujairah. Their method is unconventional. Charlie runs a real estate firm called Haus & Haus, and the couple has turned their property listings into a platform for vulnerable pets. Dogs and cats needing homes now appear directly within online listings alongside houses and apartments for sale or rent, transforming a space people already visit into an unexpected sanctuary for animals that might otherwise remain invisible.
The idea came from Lucy Nickerson, the firm’s marketing director, who created and executed the concept. Charlie describes the response as unexpected and overwhelming. “I really didn’t anticipate such a reaction,” he says, noting the extraordinary number of people who have reached out to help. His wife was the initial animal advocate in the household, while Charlie admits he “didn’t have much insight” into rescue work before Duke arrived. The couple already had four cats at home when they decided to take in the abandoned pug.
Across the UAE, animals face abandonment for reasons rooted largely in confusion and logistical uncertainty. When people relocate internationally, many struggle to understand how to transport their pets or whether it is even possible. That gap in knowledge often leads to surrender or worse. Siddhi Mulaokar, a volunteer at K9 Friends, has witnessed this pattern firsthand over decades of rescue work. “Many people now know they can relocate their pets,” she says. “In the past 35 years, we have actively tried to find resources to send the cats abroad, or care for them when they’re in a dire situation.”
For those who do surrender animals to rescue organizations, the work extends far beyond initial placement. “When an animal isn’t adopted quickly, we don’t stop caring for it,” Mulaokar explains. “We medicate it, we look after it properly, we take care of all the dogs.” She also challenges the assumption that older animals take longer to find homes. “We’ve had older dogs get adopted and go all the way to the UK,” she recalls. “It turned out to be someone’s mother, and it worked out perfectly, because the dog was slower, and so was she.”
One story stands out in Mulaokar’s experience. A saluki arrived at the shelter described as uncontrollable. Within twenty minutes of posting about the dog on social media, K9 Friends received a call from the Royal Palace. The saluki was adopted and went on to live there.
Lewis Davey, founder of Idea Farm, the agency behind the initiative, sees the partnership as addressing something deeper. “A pet makes a house a home,” he says. “Putting rescue pets in home environments helped potential home buyers visualise a new home, with a new pet. The response has been incredible so far, but the big ambition is to partner with the Government and turn this into an annual initiative and bring together the whole real estate sector to rehome hundreds of pets.”
Ben, also from K9 Friends, speaks plainly about the reality of rescue work. Some dogs remain in care far longer than others, waiting for the right match. “Our aim is for it to be forever,” he says. “To find a home forever. Somewhere out there, there is a forever for every one of them.”
Whether the real estate sector responds to Davey’s wider ambition, and whether government backing follows, will determine how many more animals get that chance.