It has been nearly three years since I moved to Ireland, to Cork more precisely and all the good things said about this city and county are true! However, I do have one constructive critique for it and as a Cork-advocate myself I think it is a good one so here it is…
I will start saying that it is no secret I love dogs. If you take a look at my social media, it’s full of love for dogs, dogs playing, dogs running, Blue and Harley taking me for a walk, quotes about dogs, memes about cats and dogs (got to admit memes of cats are funnier) therefore, I know cats are special too, but unfortunately, I have never had one so I can’t say much about them, except that Seamus is like one but that’s a different story.
As I was saying, I love dogs and it pleases me to see that the pandemic has given many people the “little push” they needed to get a pet. After all, pets keep us company and if anything, the pandemic has also made us feel lonely and with way too much time at home to be wasted on the couch only.
But what about those that wanted a pet but couldn’t get one because of the [too many] reasons that restrict us to get one? Reasons like: landlords not allowing pets at their houses, places such as hotels, restaurants, pubs, coffee houses, where “pets are not allowed”… but why? what is so ‘wrong’ about them? Can you honestly think of a good reason not to allow pets into our lives?
You might argue that dogs are big or too playful and alright, I have witnessed big dogs here in Ireland but I have seen them in farms, and I have also had conversations about the history of dogs in Ireland with Seamus. In fact, I was so curious about them that I found an Irish Times article about it and big dogs are part of history and by their roles and activities, you could say that they were kind of intimidating but… WE ARE NOT IN THOSE TIMES ANYMORE!
We are in the 21st century, after a historic pandemic where love in any form is very much needed and appreciated and pets are exactly that, PURE LOVE. Plus, let’s take into consideration that dogs are now trained, groomed, that there are dog-walkers (I am proudly one in my free time) and most importantly that they are everywhere and I say this because I have been lucky enough to be in many cities around the world, big cities like Barcelona, Milan, Paris, London are very pet friendly and also smaller cities like the one I come from, Cuenca (Ecuador) is getting there so of course, I know what I am talking about and the void I feel by not seeing more pups around the city. Our American friends know about this too, look at this article “30 best small towns for dog lovers” , and I also found a this Europe's pet-friendly cities list.
This being said, I don’t think we can say that ‘due to health and safety reasons’ is a good excuse anymore, because those cities do it and they do it well. Then, is it because Cork is not as big as they are? That doesn’t make any sense, so now I place the question why are we still not a pet-friendly city when we have everything to be? Especially the friendliness.
At the beginning of the pandemic, I heard so many times that “after the pandemic we will emerge as better people”. Let’s show that then. Maybe what we need now is a PETDEMIC, let’s all welcome pets.
Cork is already welcoming with people, inclusive, outdoorsy, and warm (figuratively 😊). In fact, why I dared to write this is because I have felt it myself and I know I won’t be thrown out of the city because of this. I am a foreign who was welcomed with open arms to this beautiful city and country and while I am in no way comparing myself to a pet because pets are so much better, I think they deserve a chance to be more welcomed in places where we socialise, where we also invest time with our loved ones, where we make lifelong memories.
“Such short little lives our pets have to spend with us, and they spend most of it waiting for us to come home each day.” – John Grogan
If you agree with this blog post, feel free to share it. Maybe it will catch the attention of a landlord and/or business owner and if we are lucky enough, it will catch the attention of more than one and most likely their hearts and then, we will have started to #MakeCorkPetfriendly.
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