‘Wonderful’ Brit woman, 61, ‘eaten alive by pack of feral dogs she cared for at Egyptian animal shelter’
A Brit woman who worked at an Egyptian animal shelter was 'eaten' by a pack of dogs she helped care for, police claim.
Anne Johnson, 61, who is thought to have grown up in Macclesfield, was found dead at the shelter in the Red Sea city of Dahab on Friday afternoon.
Officers called to the scene say she was attacked by three dogs who bit her on the face, neck, arms and legs while she was going to feed them.
According to Egyptian site , she was found by workers at the shelter with lacerations to her neck while lying next to a bag of food.
But the dog lover's remains have been sent for forensic examination, with an official cause of death yet to be determined.
Anne - known to her friends as Janet - lived in Egypt for 16 years, where she worked tirelessly to save stray and abandoned animals at a shelter funded by a UK-based non-profit charity.
It is thought she ran the shelter mostly on her own.
The country is a struggling with a stray animal problem, with campaigners keen to, protect the estimated 15 million dogs living on Egypt's streets.
Friends and family are now desperately trying to re-home the animals that Ms Johnson looked after - which also includes rabbits, cats, horses and a donkey.
A friend who spoke to said those who knew Ms Johnson 'utterly refute' that she was attacked by the dogs - and they believe she fell unconscious while attempting to feed the animals.
'DEDICATED HER LIFE TO DOGS'
They also believe local police are using her death to shut down the animal shelter, which was unpopular with locals who are fearful of wild, stray dogs.
The source told the newspaper: "Authorities have tried shutting her down for years, they're obviously using this to push for the shelter to be shut down.
"We are very concerned for the animals. She dedicated her life to the dogs. This is not what she would have wanted."
A message posted to Facebook Group 'Janet's Wadi - Support The Street Dogs of Dahab' - which was set up to support the animal carer - read: "Janet spent her life saving neglected and suffering animals of Dahab and fought for them when they had no one else.
"Janet will forever be in our hearts, she helped so many. She will be greatly missed and will be remembered for her passion, dedication and big heart.
"We extend our heartfelt condolences firstly to all her fur babies whom she saved and tried tirelessly to find a better future and to get them more help, to her friends and family. The rescue world has lost a a very special person today. May you rest in peace."
A Foreign Office spokesman said: "We are supporting the family of a British woman who has died in Egypt and are in contact with the Egyptian authorities.
"Our thoughts are with the family at this difficult time."
Dina Zulfikar, an Egyptian animal rights activist and close friend of the deceased called for an end to speculation, saying: “Janet had been dealing with dogs professionally since 2004 and they are her best friends — she wouldn’t have stayed in Egypt but for them."
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At the end of last month she announced on her Facebook page that a fundraiser had failed and that the dogs would have to go hungry.
She wrote: “We tried but we didn’t raise enough for the food to be purchased. So the dogs couldn’t be fed today. Thank you a million times over to everyone who donated and shared.”
No decision has been made as to the future of the animals.
