Pets indicate neighbourhood friendliness

“Location, location, location” may soon be replaced by “pets, pets, pets” as the key to finding the perfect spot to live, according to new research undertaken in Western Australia.

While there are well known one-on-one benefits to owning a pet, research from the School of Population Health at the University of Western Australia clearly shows that pet ownership also has a beneficial ripple effect for the whole community.

Non-pet owners spontaneously identified people walking dogs as one of the ways in which they get to know and recognise neighbours and other residents within their suburb. Dog owners also identified social contact resulting from being out with their dogs. The visible presence of people walking dogs seems to contribute to feelings of collective safety and a generalised sense of community.
Key findings from the research:

·40.5% of pet owners said that they had got to know other people in their suburb through their pet, with dog walking being the activity that was most likely to initiate contact
·83.8% of dog walkers talked to other pet owners while out walking their dog
·Pet owners were 57% more likely to be civically engaged than non-pet owners
·Pet owners were 74% more likely to have a high social capital score compared with non-pet owners
·82.5% of dog owners felt safer in their homes because of owning a dog
·The odds of feeling lonely more frequently were twice as high among non-pet owners as pet owners

Dog ownership specifically contributed to people feeling a sense of community and getting to know others, and pet ownership contributed to an overall high score on the social capital score.

Nearly two thirds of Australian households have pets, outnumbering the number of homes with children, Internet connections and DVD players.