Life with dogs in the city

Abstract

The city is by its definition a space appropriated by culture, it is artificial and anthropogenic environment, the place of residence of people. The numbers, however, are significant. In the United States, the number of households with dogs exceeds the number of households with children. In 2016 there were over 60 million (the number of dogs is estimated at 70 million) of households with a dog. The value of the market of products related to the maintenance of domestic pets was estimated in 2017 at approx. USD 70 billion. It means almost 60 pp. growth over the past 10 years. The average dog owner assessed his annual expenses for about 1,600 USD. The largest part was devoted to veterinary care and hotels for animals. It is also worth mentioning the ever-growing animal insurance market. In addition to the importance for the economy, having dogs has other consequences. First of all, you can point out their social role here. Dogs and other pets have become „family members” and „best friends”. One can risk the thesis that they are, in some cases, a substitute for partners or children – at least some of the owners treat them as such. The aim of the article is to indicate the selected spatial consequences of having dogs in the city. The diagnosis covers both the elements of real space as well as the social perception of the phenomenon of having and housing dogs in the city. What is spatial is primarily related to public space, recreation and leisure. The case study is Łódź, a city of 700,000 residents and 80,000 dogs (estimates). The research was carried out from 2013 to 2017. An inventory was made of selected green areas in Łódź and expert interviews with representatives of the Municipal Police in Łódź and the Department for Economic and Control Affairs of the Department of Municipal Economy in Łódź. In addition, data obtained from institutions such as: Municipal Police in Łódź, Poviat Veterinary Inspectorate (PIW) in Łódź and the Local Data Bank of the Central Statistical Office were analyzed. Self-administrative interviews with dogs’ owners were conducted as well. The focus was on the current situation, which in practice means the last five years.