Man's best friend is seen as anything but in Iran, where city workers gun down strays and conservatives view pet dogs as a corrupting Western influence.

But in a rare animal shelter in the countryside west of Teheran, hundreds of lucky pups have found mercy, and a growing number of Iranians are learning to love them.

Islamic tradition holds cats in high esteem, and in much of the Muslim world, people leave food out for feral felines. Stray dogs, on the other hand, are often seen as a public nuisance.

In Iran's Islamic republic, dog ownership is seen as a pernicious Western import, and conservative lawmakers have called for it to be banned or at least heavily restricted, in line with other regulations governing Western music and fashion.

But outside Teheran, more than 500 dogs find care and affection at the Vafa Animal Shelter, which was established through an endowment in 2004 and is the country's only licensed animal refuge.

"In our society, dogs are the most vulnerable animals," said Ali Sani, the shelter's manager. "The dogs that are brought here used to be in urban environments and were struggling with problems and needed help."

The shelter rescues stray dogs, who otherwise risk being shot and disposed of by municipal workers. But pet dogs don't have it much better. Dog-walking in public is banned, as is allowing dogs to stick their heads out of car windows. Around 30 lawmakers are backing a draft bill to punish dog walkers with up to $3,000 in fines and 74 lashes, but a similar previous attempt failed.

Culture war

The dispute over dogs is part of a culture war in Iran that dates back to the revolution in 1979 that toppled the pro-Western shah. Conservatives have sought to impose their version of Islam on society and rid it of Western influence.

But their efforts have met with resistance, particularly from younger, more urban and more well-off Iranians - the dog owner demographic - who helped elect President Hassan Rouhani, a relative moderate, last year.

Mohammad Ismail Kowsari, one of the parliamentarians supporting stiffer penalties, said: "Dog owners sometimes bring them (out in) public, in buses for example, or let the dog stick its head out of a car window to show it to others. That is unacceptable.

"What made us consider drawing up such a bill was the increasing number of those who exhibit dogs by walking them in public."

Kowsari added, however, that the mere ownership of a dog would not be criminalized, as long as it is kept indoors.

The shelter has steered clear of the debate, and does not promote dog-walking. Sani said the authorities have generally been supportive of the shelter's work, in part because it gathers up strays and spays and neuters them.

(China Daily 12/11/2014 page10)