Old Turkish man can’t bring himself to sacrifice his beloved ram

BURSA - Doğan News Agency

DHA Photo

A heartwarming Eid al-Adha story from Turkey has made headlines amid the sacrificial bloodshed, after 73-year-old Teyfik Gülay could not bring himself to slaughter the ram he purchased six months ago, instead deciding to keep it as a pet.

However, the softhearted old Gülay, who lives with his son in the northwestern province of Bursa, bought another animal for the holy Feast of Sacrifice.

The ram he bought six months ago, which he has named “Murat,” now lives in the small garden of his flat, after unexpectedly turning into a kind of pet while Gülay fed it for six months up to Eid al-Adha. It began to accompany him everywhere he went, even joining him for breakfast.

When Murat began walking with him to the supermarket, Gülay finally understood he would not have the heart to have him killed.

Gülay bought a bow tie for Murat, before taking him to visits to friends and relatives, a holiday tradition in Turkey but generally for humans only.

Gülay told Doğan News Agency that he would feed Murat “until the end of his life.”

Photos of the pensioner with Murat went viral over the first two days of the feast, receiving particular praise from animal lovers on Oct. 4, World Animal Day.