The woman caring for Koya's stray cats and dogs

KOYA, Kurdistan Region — Najat Abdulrazaq, 59, is known as the "guardian angel" of Koya's stray cats and dogs. 

The retiree has turned her small home into a shelter for stray cats, and feeds stray dogs every day. 

"They are poor and need help. They need kindness and compassion. We should take care of them, not only feed them," she told Rudaw. 

"She has been feeding the stray animals like an angel. When they get sick or injured, she takes stray dogs and cats to a veterinary clinic to cure them," said Bakhtiyar Khalid, who heads a local dog rights organization. 

Abulrazaq, who used to work in the education sector, now uses a portion of her pension to buy food for the animals.

Translation and video editing by Sarkawt Mohammed