Sulaymaniyah holds fourth World Dog Day festival with K9 and pet categories

SULAYMANIYAH, Iraq — The fourth World Dog Day festival opened in Sulaymaniyah on Saturday, drawing several hundred dogs including K9 police dogs and household pets, the event organizer said. Festival coordinator Necha Salah said the dogs competed across different breeds and categories. A health and science committee made up of veterinarians and animal specialists will select the winners based on professional criteria rather than appearance alone, she added. The committee will choose three dogs from the trained K9 police dog category and three from the pet dog category, with the winning dogs to be awarded alongside their owners, Salah said. She described the festival as aimed at reducing violence against animals and strengthening the relationship between humans and animals. Organizers said the event is intended to promote a culture of compassion toward animals and pass those values to younger generations, emphasizing that the human-animal relationship should be built on responsibility and mutual respect.