Opinion
Despite all the jaw-droppingly beautiful locations I hiked through Mont Blanc and the Dolomites in Italy last month, there is one sight I can’t seem to get out of my head. It was a man hiking with his companion. In my backpack, I carried litres of water, snacks and a first aid kit. In his, a dog.
This was no ordinary backpack, but a canine carrier with mesh windows on three sides. The occupant, a miniature schnauzer, looked quite pleased with his journey, hardly breaking into a sweat.
I’m a sucker for dogs, so this image made me smile, and I soon became accustomed to seeing people who were holidaying with their pooches. These furry family members were allowed on trains, in cafes and restaurants, and even got to sleep with their humans across the hall in my Venice hotel, then accompany them to the breakfast buffet.
There is nothing notable about seeing a small child being wheeled around in a shopping trolley while their parents buy the weekly groceries, but at a supermarket in Cortina, the home of the most recent Winter Olympics, I did need a second take. While I marvelled at the prosciutto at the deli counter, a dog was sitting in a trolley next to me, without excessively salivating – the dog, not me.
According to an article in Italian newspaper La Stampa, 60 per cent of Italians surveyed seek out pet-friendly destinations for their vacation. Italy is also marketed as the most dog-friendly holiday destination in Europe, as evident when I met Auguste at Lake Como, the long-haired Dachshund from France, and Luna, the playful 12-week-old golden retriever who was holidaying with her Austrian humans. Sitz, Luna!
Seeing families wheeling their suitcases while appeasing their hot and tired kids and leading their dog through Milano Centrale railway station was fascinating. They were heading for accommodation that welcomed dogs, sat at restaurants that welcomed dogs, both inside and out, and took them shopping in multi-level department stores. Imagine the patience required for a dog to sit while you try on clothes. I’m hard-pushed to get my husband to tolerate that.
And if you think the dog’s needs are not being considered, Lonely Planet has created a travel guide for pet-friendly Italy. You can visit Scooby Doo Beach in Campomarino Lido and hire a suite – picture a family-sized playpen on the sand – that includes shade, lounges and water mister for all occupants. Water bowls for dogs only.
I can imagine the red flags this raises in your mind. Allergies. Fear of dogs. Hygiene. Trip hazard. Liability. Stepping in something warm and squishy. It is one thing having to collect your dog’s poop with an inverted plastic bag from the sidewalk, but another in the first-class carriage of a Trenitalia train.
Even a person like me, who wants to cuddle every dog I pass, was looking out for tripwires, but in six weeks I never once saw a dog misbehave or have an – ahem – accident. It became quite normal to have a dog sitting next to me while I tucked into my caprese salad.
The La Stampa article cites that dogs and cats registered in Italy outnumber kids under 14 by 2.3 to 1. You may be surprised when I tell you that, remarkably, it is close to the same here in Australia. So, it raises the question, why can’t we take our dogs so easily on holidays?
Should we be able to visit the Gold Coast and have Dougal the lab accompany us into every cafe, restaurant and shop we visit? Should our 15th-floor apartment be cool with a pooch sleeping in the living room? Should Coles at Pacific Fair be fine with Xena the red heeler strutting past the rotisserie chickens?
It does sound like a stretch, I know, especially when we are still hearing cases of people with assistance dogs being denied transport despite it being illegal to refuse their fare. It was also apparent that these European pooches were raised with these freedoms so knew how to behave, at times better than their younger humans, I might add.
This all got me thinking about an untapped tourism opportunity the Italians may have overlooked for those of us who can’t take our dog to Europe. If we can hire a car, a bike, skis and even travel clothes in Japan, then why not a pooch? I could be sitting in my Italian beach playpen, waiting for my gelato, while Bella the bulldog plays with her chew toy.
Jo Pybus is a freelance writer.
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