Street dogs can be very dirty and have all sort of diseases, so unless I am not 100% about their condition I won't pet it.
I live in South East Asia and they eat dogs, rats and all sort of insects. I don't judge but at the same time I am against animal cruelty. There is no need to cook any animal alive. I am against the suffering.
At the same time, if I have a dog I like to pet it and I don't want to mistreat it: It is not about treating the dog like a baby, it's treating the dog like your dog.