A culture shock about dogs as a middle eastern
As a middle eastern, specifically Khaliji, I always find it difficult to understand why mostly western individuals are shocked when we aren’t very infatuated with dogs. While I don’t want to generalize, everyone I know has a pretty neutral opinion on dogs in general. We don’t consider them the ultimate pet the same way people in the west do, but we don’t necessarily have it out for them.
In our Islamic majority culture, dogs are seen generally as unclean animals. While I don’t necessarily have every single thing down concerning the rulings for dogs (feel free to correct me), dogs are seen as any other animal. You aren’t allowed to harm them for any other reason, except for self defense obviously. You are not allowed to own one inside your own living space (outdoor space is fine). And saliva or physical touch with dogs must be followed with cleansing of the body, otherwise obligatory prayers are not accepted. I believe this is the reason why so many people in the Middle East don’t own dogs. We don’t necessarily hate dogs (as media outlets portray) I personally never have, in fact I find them cute. But would I want to own one, not really considering it see,s like dogs require a lot of maintenance to keep.
As for cultural pets for us arbs (specifically khaliji arabs) are definitely either the Arabian horses or camels. They are treated more like family than animals. Just a fun fact I liked to share.