JEDDAH: The dog may not be the most popular animal in this part of the world, but when it comes to guard dogs some people have made them man’s best friend.
A number of mechanic shops in the city’s southern Iskan Street, where auto parts places and garages are ubiquitous, have adopted some of these furry friends to keep a vigil against robbers who constantly prey them.
“Theft has dramatically dropped after bringing three dogs to guard my shop,” said Mahmoud Ghazzawi. “My shop was robbed three times last year, before bringing these dogs.”
Iskan Street is a fertile ground for thieves who break into shops to steal equipment and sometimes dismantle parts from vehicles that are left overnight with the mechanic for servicing.
The security problem in the Iskan area has been a long disputed issue between shop owners and the management of the commercial zone who provide a small number of security guards for the whole area. Shop owners also say they have a quarrel with the municipality, which they say is constantly capturing and killing their guard dogs, believing them to be strays.
“Though we kept explaining the importance of the dogs and their effective role in guarding our shops and customer’s vehicles, municipality officials keep killing them,” he said.
Assad Maroof, another mechanic shop owner, said that shop owners have been complaining to the police about theft.
“The area is so easy and tempting for theft and guard dogs seem to be the only suitable solution for all of us,” said Maroof, who bought two puppies from a neighboring mechanic shop who had a growing family of dogs. “Some people are starting to make money from selling puppies to other shops.”
“I have raised them and they have become good guards,” he said. Maroof’s dogs bark at approaching cars but become docile once the vehicle stops and drivers emerge.
Saleh Mirsal, another of Iskan Street’s mechanic shop owners, said that adopting strays is risky because they are liable to get killed by municipal officials. The solution has been to be more careful to keep the animals inside the business grounds.
“After many dogs have been put to sleep, we started keeping them inside the shop after closing,” he said. “They are still able to frighten any thief who tries to break into the shop.”
But what about customers who might be intimidated by the animals?
“We might lose a few customers, but in return we gain security for our shops and our customers’ vehicles.”
