How Australians Manage Pets in Public Areas

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Beloved companion or nuisance? Not everyone enjoys unexpected encounters with pets in public places. Is the trend of treating pets more like family members and integrating them into society truly beneficial for everyone? Catch the Insight episode It’s Just A Dog live on Tuesday, June 24 at 8.30PM on SBS or stream it on SBS On Demand.

Sarah Baum adores dogs, but her children do not share this affection, and she struggles to find secure public areas for them.

Even though she is fond of dogs, she cannot keep them at home.

“My toddlers have a deep fear of dogs. They scream and become extremely upset,” Sarah shared.

Their fear possibly stems from an incident where two loose greyhounds overturned the stroller when her twins were only eight months old.

“The stroller flipped over, and the dogs were jumping on it while the babies were trapped beneath.”

two young blonde children a boy and girl swinging on a rope in a park

Sarah’s twins, who are now aged four, playing in a park. Source: Supplied

Since then, the sight of dogs in public has caused terror for the twins, now aged four.

“We were in the playground one day, a dog bounded, past, and my kids got terrified and were screaming. They tried to climb me like I was a tree.”

“The dogs’ owner … she looked me up and down, and snarled: ‘Get control of your kids’.

“It’s made me quite anxious about being in public with my twins, in case we come across a dog.”

‘An obligation to work the dog’

For Chris, navigating everyday life would be much harder without his registered assistance dog Lachie.

However, as an accredited handler, Chris says: “I’m acutely aware people may not like dogs and my first thoughts are really for others.”

When asked if animals should be able to go anywhere their human goes, Chris says it’s a hard question to answer.

“The problem then arises when it becomes a safety issue or an unknown,” Chris said.

“I have to always be on top of what’s happening with myself and the dog. Because I’ve got an obligation to protect the dog … and an obligation to work the dog.”

While Lachie is legally allowed to accompany him in most spaces, Chris says varying standards of training for other companion animals — such as emotional support animals — can jeopardise his safety.

“I don’t know how your dog is going to react. I don’t know how well that handler has trained that animal.”

a black assistance Labrador siting in the aisle of an empty commercial aeroplane

Chris’s dog Lachie is able to go most public places as his assistance dog. Source: Supplied

‘They are just dogs’

Former dog trainer Gabriele Marranci believes that there is an over-humanisation of pets that can lead to poorly trained and socialised animals.

“I think we should treat them with a lot of respect and patience … and with the understanding that they are just dogs. Their brains are quite different from ours.”

Having lived in several countries, including Italy where he trained dogs for the military, Gabriele believes Australia is behind Europe when it comes to training pets.

He observes that Australia lacks the level of dog-friendly integration seen in places like Italy, limiting dog owners’ chances to acclimate their pets to various public settings.

“Every time we don’t expose dogs to a situation … they will not learn and that becomes a problem,” he said.

“Dogs don’t read books. They learn by exposure, reward or correction when it’s needed.”

He says that the more dogs stay at home without getting experience in public, “the more dangerous … the dog can become”.

He suggests that while not all dogs should be granted access to public areas, an obedience test could potentially be implemented to ensure dogs are well-behaved before being allowed in such spaces.

A pet-friendly public transport system

With an estimated 28.7 million pets, Australia has one of the highest rates of pet ownership in the world (with 48 per cent of households owning a dog) — according to 2022 research by Animal Medicines Australia.

Jennifer Kent, a University of Sydney senior research fellow and urbanism research lead, says we need to be smarter about how we integrate dogs into our public spaces.

“Compared to Europe, North America, South America … we are very restrictive about what we allow people to take on public transport in terms of pets.

Kent suggests adapting public transport to meet the demand for dogs by potentially introducing a “dog-only carriage” like some European cities have introduced.

The researcher says there’s merit in referring to what other countries and jurisdictions (including Victoria, Australia, which allows small pets to travel on buses, trams and trains) have done to “make their public transport system more equitable”.

Anupam’s dogs sitting in the courtyard of her dog-friendly bar in Melbourne. Source: Supplied

Less restrictive legislation for pets?

Anupam Sharma is a veterinarian and part-owner of a dog-friendly Melbourne bar that caters to the canine clientele. She feels that the current restrictions on dogs in Victorian bars and venues are too restrictive.

“They’re allowed in the courtyard … but unfortunately, because of the legislation, we can’t bring them inside like you can in Europe, North America and South America.”

She feels this is a shame, especially considering that in her experience, “most dogs behave a lot better than the humans at the bar”.

We have noticed very drunk people throwing up in the dog bowl.

Anupam Sharma

Anupam added: “We have noticed very drunk people throwing up in the dog bowl.”

“If you’re going to be banning anyone based on their behaviour, you’d be banning the people.”

a side by side double selfie of a woman with dark hair and glasses and a white and black cat on her lap

Sumi says her cat Zara is her “fur baby”. Source: Supplied

Sumi Mahendran, who is in the third of Australian households owning a cat (according to Animal Medicines Australia), is determined for her and her “baby” Zara to enjoy the same privileges as dogs and their owners.

Sumi has started walking her cat on a leash but says that most places aren’t setup for cats in public.

“There are more things geared towards dog owners — even in pet stores — and the ability for dogs to go into public.”

Sumi says her life “revolves around” Zara, to the point of turning down overseas job opportunities, and hopes cats are soon more accepted in public spaces.

two babies sleeping on a bed with a ginger cat also sleeping on the bed

Sarah says she never would leave Leo the cat alone with her kids when they were babies. Source: Supplied

‘I’m not treating him as a human being’

Although Sarah can’t have dogs in her home with her twins, she can have cats. While she says their cat Leo is part of their family, like Gabriele, she says we need to remember that pets aren’t human.

Understanding the “immense support and attachment” that comes with pets, she says she would still would never have left her cats alone with her children when they were babies.

“I trust him 99.99 per cent of the time … but what if?”

Sarah acknowledges she loves her pet but at the end of the day, he is an animal.

“I’m treating him as a cat.

“I’m not treating him as a human being.”