A lot of people in Australia have dogs. You see all sorts of dogs, everything from small dogs like toy poodles to medium-sized English Staffordshire bull terriers, commonly given the nickname “Staffy”, and large dogs like the popular retrievers. There are about as many people walking their dogs as there are walkers without dogs on the paths along the beaches here and particularly nowadays with lots of people going for walks in between work at home, you see people walking their dogs or just going for a walk at all times of the day on weekdays. On the Gold Coast, walking your dog off the lead is an offense and you will get a fine, but the city council provides a number of public spaces where you can exercise your dog off the lead. Beaches are public spaces too, so at most of them dogs are either not allowed or you have to have your dog on a lead, and there are only six beaches where you can let your dog off the lead. Dog owners who think it would be a pity if they were the only ones having fun on such beautiful, spacious beaches as they have on the Gold Coast, and want to let their own dogs run around and play as much as they want, drive all the way to the beaches where it’s OK to let them off the lead. When you go to one of these beaches, you see dogs and their owners having a nice, relaxed, fun time playing, with dogs running near you from here and there, dogs running around chasing each other, and lots of owners throwing a ball or a stick into the sea and their dog swimming out to retrieve it.
Most people who own dogs have good manners and if their dog poops while out walking, they always take the waste home or dispose of it in a garbage can in a public space. The city council has dispensers with plastic bags for dog waste on the paths along the beach and you can use the bags free of charge. These bags are quite thin, but they’re surprisingly well made and despite being thin, they don’t leak. Thanks to this kind of unobtrusive consideration, you will find hardly any dog waste on the public walking paths here. These good manners are common sense of course, but apparently people who get caught do get a fine. Seeing as there are so many people walking their dogs, it is important to set and enforce rules properly, and to keep the beaches and roads clean. Apart from that, where they have water fountains here and there on the paths along the beaches, in consideration for dogs, below the fountain is a tap where you can get water for your dog to drink. And under the public showers at beaches, you might also find a bowl that someone has put there so dogs can get a drink of water, which again gives you a sense of the consideration dog-loving Aussies have for their dogs.
By the way, on a different note, I heard on the news that last year because of COVID-19, there was an increase in people getting dogs and cats from animal shelters, and that some shelters gave away all their animals and ended up with none. I understand that lots of people think a pet can be a comfort if you have to stay at home, but recently I heard on the news about things like an increase in the number of animals being returned to animal shelters as life returns to normal. Of course, I hope people take their responsibilities seriously and look after their pets properly, and don’t get a pet for frivolous reasons or just to suit themselves.


Free garbage bags for dog waste


Water for dogs to drink under a water fountain. There is even a faucet so you can give your dog fresh water.