“The better I get to know men, the more I find myself loving dogs.”
No matter who authored this quote (weirdly attributed both to Mark Twain and Charles de Gaulle), it resonated this week as I scrolled reader responses to a plan to allow dogs on Sydney trains and buses.
The author’s “feisty” terrier, Sherlock, on the London Tube. Credit: The Admirable Watson
Proposed by Clover Moore, it can hardly be deemed the veteran lord mayor’s most revolutionary idea, yet the level of public opprobrium it unleashed (sorry) seems out of proportion. One headline, “Barking mad”, best encapsulates the majority view, while an array of outraged commentators predict disasters ranging from dog fur (and worse) on train seats to scenes of mauled schoolchildren and triggered dog attack victims. Really? Really?!
I have lived in London for 15 years now, 11 of them with a Cairn terrier, a feisty Scottish breed usually recognised as Dorothy’s Toto in The Wizard of Oz. Our boy, (incidentally named Sherlock before we learned his grandfather’s name was Moriarty), is just one of an estimated 9 million domestic dogs who live in the UK. On the continent, Germany tops the dog ownership list with 9.2 million Canis familiaris, followed by Poland (7.55 million), Italy (7 million) and France (6.95 million) – and all are welcome to travel on public transport.
In London, every commuter is allowed two animals per fare – and the four-legged ones travel gratis. I’ve seen a great Dane folded into the luggage space on a London bus, rescue greyhounds splayed in the aisles, Pomeranians and chihuahuas peeking out of handbags and backpacks, a corgi neatly sharing a train seat with his owner. I could not count the number of buses and trains that Sherlock has happily boarded with us, baulking only occasionally when “mind the gap” warnings on the Underground heralded a huge chasm between train and platform for his short terrier legs. (Admittedly, he is also not a fan of escalators).
Over the years, we’ve also seen two large Bengal cats walk onto a bus, a large and sweary Macau parrot sitting on a man’s shoulder on the Tube, and I’ve even witnessed a pet ferret disappear in and out of its owner’s sock. Nobody raised an eyebrow. And not once have I witnessed an animal refused entry to a bus or train, nor any fuss or upset.
London is home to nearly 9 million citizens, a huge metropolis where public transport is dominant over the car. Every day, more than 3 million Londoners use public transport, while in any 24-hour period, some 21 million trips are made on buses or trains.
Sydney, on the other hand, remains a city dominated by the automobile, enveloped by highways and ruled by traffic. The great majority of commuter journeys are made in cars, which are, by their very nature, defined by individual choice and comfort.
