“Residents of Dubai Marina expressed their shock and surprise to wake up last week to discover Emaar had banned dogs from public spaces.” They were quick to complain in the letters page of The National this week, warning that “Dubai will be lagging behind if this rule is enforced”.
I realise this may make me unpopular, but I’m all for a ban on dogs everywhere in the UAE. One of the things I love about living here as opposed to the UK, where I’m from, is the lack of dogs, dog mess and dog owners on the streets.
What joy it is to be able to walk barefoot on the beach or in a park, without fear of dog mess underfoot. How pleasant, clean and civilised.
Why then should Emaar’s forward thinking be attacked? Yes, perhaps residents could have been given more notice of a change, but it should hardly come as a surprise that this country is not the world’s biggest fan of dogs – and nor should it be made to be.
Those who choose to have dogs, often despite the lease terms of their apartments, should be forced to think for a minute about why their rights should override those who want families to be able to relax without the addition of dogs into the mix. Why do people need to keep dogs in cities, especially in sky-high apartment blocks? The motives seem ultimately selfish.
In my high-rise building in Abu Dhabi, I was just this week confronted by a woman in the lift with two dogs that she had taken for a walk and who were gasping from the heat.
On other occasions, I have seen other residents of the building taken aback at having to share the confined spaces of the lift areas with dogs, who often rush to them looking to be petted.
The owners use human language and a smug attitude to “educate” others about the wonderful world of dog ownership, as if it is a badge of a modern, civilised society. Far from it – no one wants a dog jumping up to lick the face of their two-year-old child, or to run the risk of being bitten or feel obliged to pet an animal perhaps when they are on their way to dinner and have just washed their hands.
My family had dogs when I was growing up, and one of them had to be put down for biting. This was the responsible thing to do, but why should anyone have had to be bitten in the first place? Unless an elderly or disabled person needs a dog for companionship or guiding purposes, dog ownership is an indulgence most of us can do without. In my view, allowing pets to openly defecate on the street or beach, even when it is cleared up immediately afterwards, is unhygienic and frankly revolting.
The real reasons that people have dogs are often selfish, as dogs give them unconditional love and a sense of purpose they should perhaps be looking for elsewhere. Who asked the dog if it wanted to be kept as a pet in a high-rise building and exercised in the stifling heat?
Even in the UK, which some would think is a more conducive environment for dogs, the sheer number of them – seven million at one recent count – and their owners means that the dog’s presence is more often than not a plain nuisance, even when living in large houses with gardens.
In my old house in East London, my next door neighbour had a Jack Russell, which not only yapped at all hours of the day and night, disturbing my sleep, but burrowed under the garden fence and used my lawn as a toilet. The response from the dog owner was not repeatable.
In admirable contrast, I rarely hear a barking dog in the UAE or see a pile of dog mess. Thankfully, the logistics of living away from home are enough to stop most people from insisting on all of their accompanying habits and foibles.
I hope the UAE never becomes a “dog-loving” culture like the UK. Perhaps we could create designated dog areas, allowing the rest of us the chance to enjoy our peace?
Rosemary Behan is The National’s travel editor