The Ultimate Guide to Creating a Pet Friendly Community

When I went to search the concept of creating a pet friendly community, there was limited information on the subject. There were scattered articles on how to pet-proof your home and guides in pet-friendly retirement lifestyles.

How is it that no articles discuss this topic!? A pet-friendly community is many pet and business owners dream.

To have a community where your dogs can spend their days with you, where employers welcome your pets into the workplace, where restaurants allow you to wander in off the street with your pooch by your side.

Haven’t businesses worked out that great pet owners are more likely than most to spend money on good quality products and outings?

Haven’t employers discovered that pet owners are loyal and driven people and therefore great employees?

We are the good guys – help a pet lover out!

So, without further ado, here is our best, ULTIMATE guide, to creating a pet-friendly community. Share it with your boss and share it with your neighbours!

There are many down falls of setting complex policies that become overwhelming. So, the first point to becoming a pet-friendly community is easy:

Keep it simple, stupid.

There are areas where national laws have gaps, and these gaps should be clearly filled with local regulations so residents know where they stand – are outdoor cats a nuisance, are dogs allowed on the beach?

Local regulations should be simple, and clear – otherwise we have no hope in impacting any day-to-day behaviour.

The same goes for businesses, we should make it super clear what the rules are. Signs that display:

“sorry, we love cats, but they’re not allowed here”
“dogs welcome on a lead!”
“Toilet trained dogs aloud in store.” (a non-food store of course!)

Remove barriers for people to be good pet owners.

People love their pets, and they want to be good owners. In fact, a lot already think they are – when maybe, they’re not doing a bang on job.

So, remove the barriers and educate people on the benefits of preventative care, and then make it easy for them to carry that out.

i.e. provide free microchipping when an owner registers their dog or desexes their cats – this has been seen in many areas, Gladstone, Townsville, to name a couple.

Another example is a local council educating owners on the benefits of pet exercise, while also increasing dog parks – this prevents poorly socialised dogs.

‘Dog parks can provide an outlet for natural dog behaviours such as running, chasing, playing and barking with the result that the dog is less likely to engage in such nuisance behaviour at home’ (Larsen Bridge, 2009: n.p.)

Community led and expert teachings

It is important for pet owners to know what their pets should be eating, how often they should be exercising, where they can be on leash and off leash.

Businesses can do this teaching day to day. i.e. A pet groomer can offer discounts when a criterion is met. Offer a discount if the owner can provide up to date vaccination records – educate them to why this is important.

Should I be taking my dog for more walks? A vet can tell me where I can go, where my pet can run.

Are you a dog treat business? Put up educational posts on Instagram about how often my pets should have treats, why certain foods are good for my pets. Councils, and pet friendly businesses all matter when we try to create a pet friendly community.

Improve pet-inclusive housing

One of the top reasons people surrender or give away pets for free is because of housing issues.

Although current tenancy laws are better than years past, there are still restrictions on tenants and pets.

The fact of the matter is, a bad tenant, is just that, a bad tenant. Rentals will be poorly treated irrespective of pet allowances on the property, and good quality owners will look after their pets and the home well.

An example of this is my brother – he is in IT and my sister-in-law is a doctor, they earn fantastic incomes and pay an exorbitant amount of rent. They have a dog and a puppy and take great care of the property… aside from the fact that they get me to watch the dogs each inspection, and the property manager has no idea any pets live there. Keep in mind this is under “new” current rental laws.

The point is, pets of good tenants live peacefully and cleanly in homes that are cared for well, and pet-less tenants can trash houses – so rules of damages in rentals should be in place regardless of pet ownership.

Now I could bang on all day about how to improve our cities and create pet friendly communities, but…

The most important ways to create a pet friendly community are;