Pets Guide Dubai
The extreme summer temperatures make life in Dubai very difficult for pets. However, it is not just the climate that might prove unwelcoming for your family pet. Dubai is generally not a pet-friendly city. Attitudes towards the welfare of animals can be quite negative. A trip to see the conditions of the animals in the Dubai zoo will confirm this.
Attitudes are particularly negative when it comes to dogs. For religious and cultural reasons, many local people consider dogs unclean and, as a result, there are very few places where you are allowed to walk your dog. You cannot take it to any of the local beaches or parks and more and more areas within the city are becoming off-limits. As a rule of thumb, the more ex-pats in an area, the easier people living there find it to be dog-owners.
Cats have much better reception and are more accepted as pets. However, government campaigns to round up stray cats because of the fear that they spread disease generally receive a lot of support in the local community. There is always a danger that your pet cat could be rounded up by the local municipality as a stray if it goes outside without a collar.
An important consideration, if you want to bring your pet to Dubai, is whether you are allowed to keep pets in your accommodation. Many apartment buildings have “no pets” rules. This can be true whether you are renting or buying. Check the pets policy very carefully and be aware that, as in the case of the Jumeirah Beach Residences, the policy may change with very little advanced warning, and you may be told to get rid of your pet or find alternative accommodation.
