KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 9 — Dave the cat, adopted by the England football team after the Qatar World Cup, will be given to the team's former head of security after the players could not agree on who should look after the former stray.
Defender Kyle Walker said the Three Lions had decided to give Dave to Tony Conniford, who stepped down following the World Cup.
Conniford has agreed to let Dave have access visits to all the players, Daily Star reported.
It was previously reported that Dave was adopted by England after he started showing up for dinner at their hotel in the Middle East during last month’s tournament.
The two-year-old was later made the team’s mascot and was given his own mini England shirt. Walker also pledged to bring him home if the Three Lions won the tournament.
However, the team went on to adopt Dave despite losing to France in the quarter-finals and arranged for a local pet rescuer to start the moving process.
Dave had since been microchipped, vaccinated and neutered besides having a leg wound he picked up in a catfight treated.
He is currently in foster care prior to his move to the UK in April.
As to why Conniford was chosen to look after Dave, he was said to be among those to bond with the cat and was seen close to tears as he left England’s hotel for the last time.
Janet Berry, 58, who is caring for Dave at the Qatar Animal Welfare Society, said the Three Lions were 'incredible' for adopting him and were 'giving him life'.
Berry said Dave's life expectancy as a stray in Qatar would have been only around four years due to the traffic, lack of food and 50 Celcius-plus heat in the summer.
“Dave’s future would have been bleak here,” Berry said, adding that he could easily live to 25 with a safe home in the UK.
