Dubai
Pet owners in the UAE are struggling to cope with a distinct lack of facilities for their pets. As dogs are banned from public beaches and parks, dog owners from all emirates are claiming that the hostile attitude towards pets, particularly dogs, is making their lives difficult.
One dog owner, Darryl Soares, told Gulf News that he was asked to vacate his apartment in New Gold Souq, Mankhool area, Dubai after he purchased his pet dog.
“At the time of purchasing my dog, there were no regulations against owning pets in the building,” he said. “However, when it came to renewing my lease, the landlord added a clause forbidding pets in the building. I had no choice – I had to relocate.”
Soares left his apartment and moved to the Jafiliya area. When he tried to walk his dog on the Jumeirah Open Beach, he was quickly reprimanded by an official of the Dubai Municipality. Now, he claims that he has nowhere to walk his dog, “I don’t walk my dog except behind my villa for him to litter!”
Soares is not the only pet owner that has struggled to find an appropriate area to walk his dog.
Archana Sen, a resident of Abu Dhabi, is not allowed to take her dog to her local park for a walk.
“We take our dog for her regular walks near the Abu Dhabi Municipality offices in Al Danah area, and often we take her to Saadiyat Island, but that is not a proper beach. These areas aren’t very suitable but we have no other option,” she explained.
Several dog owners have reported people expressing discomfort when they see dogs.
“I was waiting outside a shop with my dog ... a woman nearly fainted when she saw my dog and was nervously asking me to move,” Sen explained.
Other residents have been forced to walk their dogs late at night, in order to avoid people.
“I have been forced to walk my dogs after 10 in the evening!” explained Islam Farrag, who lives in the Remraam area of Dubai. “I believe most of the pet owners will agree that we end up with either a sick pet or a very depressed one due to a lack of exercise and social activity.”
The UAE has very strict regulations against where dogs can be walked, and several residents have filed complaints and believe more must be done in order to educate the wider public about animals.
In Dubai, Layal Watfeh owns a Golden Retriever, who is almost five years old.
“[We have received complaints from] every single park and beach that we ever attempted to go to,” she stated. “[We are banned from] open beaches in Jumeirah and even the ones located next to the hotels in the area. There are simply no places to take your dogs. They are prisoners of the house.”
Watfeh explained that something needs to be done in order to combat the negative responses towards dogs.
“I think dogs should be introduced to school programs as a temporary plan, to let children become aware of what dogs really are and how loving and caring they are,” she said.
This problem is double fold, however. There is a surplus of pet shops in the UAE that sell all kinds of pets, from exotic animals to cats and dogs.
“Selling pets should be more controlled in the UAE. There are so many shops that sell pets and not enough people with enough awareness and education about animals buy them,” said Watfeh.
Gauri Lilani, another Dubai resident, added that the problem of illegal breeding also explains the unfavourable approach to animals. It creates a number of unwanted cats and dogs that get abandoned, further compounding the issue of animal awareness.
“People need to first stop illegally breeding pets,” she stated. “People need to be more aware of local shelters in the UAE that do wonderful jobs and take out time and effort to help abandoned and stray animals.”
The writer is an intern with the International Section at Gulf News.
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