Walking down a Cairo street with an adopted stray dog can elicit a range of reactions, from surprise to rebuke. Their skittish behavior and curled-up tails make them easily distinguishable from the more preferred purebred pets.

Commonly known as baladi dogs, these animals are subject to name-calling while their owners are often pulled into a verbal frenzy that questions and belittles their consideration of adopting these canine friends.

“When you get a baladi dog, you can’t care what people think,” says Hadeer Halawa, who owns three. Her friends and family have ridiculed her for keeping the dogs, but she turns a blind eye to their criticisms.

“People usually come around after they interact with the dogs and see how playful they are,” she says.

Halawa found Mocha, her first rescue, as a two-month-old puppy lying in the street after being run over by a car.

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