Balancing Act Adelaide - pet friendly planning

18/09/2022

Conference poster about putting animals into 'pet friendly' up soon.

http://www.scas.org.uk/home/scas-annual-conference/?fbclid=IwAR3iI6LqtSnDVXy_PysPhRKVbxgUMF1ZrqO1iPRYldaOb8Aq-yh80njeL4Q

03/08/2022

Looking forward to this conference. One of my PhD supervisors, Dr Zoei Sutton is presenting a paper on pets in private rental housing in SA. Fits in with my own research around pets and housing for older people.

Michael Webb, Head of Policy and Public Affairs at Battersea, will present research that demonstrates how the unavailability of pet-friendly rental accommodation is one of the biggest reasons behind relinquishment and the cause of much distress. The annual Society for Companion Animal Studies (SCAS) conference on is Sunday 18 September 2022, ONLINE.

‘Pet Friendly Housing: How can we keep people and pets together?’ is an important topic that impacts so many. We have an impressive line-up of speakers from the forefront of research, practice, policy, and education, and hope you can join us too (virtually). See here for the full programme and registration information:
http://www.scas.org.uk/home/scas-annual-conference/


Thank you to our main sponsor, VetSkill, and our Bronze sponsor, Human Animal Bond Research Institute - HABRI, for their generous support of this conference.

15/02/2022

If you are developing a new fenced dog park or upgrading an existing one, there are simple rules to follow. Keep the design simple, tailor the design to your site, design with dogs in mind, create sensory nooks and areas for dogs to sniff, use natural elements rather than agility equipment. GET A COPY OF THE DOG AND CAT MANAGEMENT BOARD OF SA DOG PARK GUIDELINES- UNLEASHED A GUIDE TO SUCCEESFULL DOG PARKS. I WROTE THIS OVER 8YRS AND IT'S STILL RELEVANT TODAY.

15/02/2022

Planning WITH pets in mind.

09/02/2022

Do we really plan for the dogs needs/interests in our cities? How can we accommodate their needs in the urban? Cities are designed for humans!

17/12/2021

Dog 'owner' tips for xmas from the Dog and Cat Management Board

In South Australia, your dog must be on a leash (no longer than 2 metres) in public places. There are a few exceptions (read on).

17/12/2021

All the best with the opening today. A great community driven project. Glad i could play a small role in the design process. hope to visit the park in the new year.

Sunraysia dog owners are encouraged to come together this Friday to mark the official opening of the newly completed Rio Vista Off Leash Dog Park.

12/12/2021

WHAT'S BEEN HAPPENING? Well, it’s been a busy and interesting 6 months at Balancing Act Adelaide ‘pet friendly planning’. Here are some of my highlights:

Trip to Port Lincoln with Amanda Balmer from WAX Design to assess potential sites for a fenced dog park (first trip after Covid restrictions). We work-shopped design ideas for the site at Nelson Square, Port Lincoln with a focus on using natural elements to create different activity areas where dogs could sniff, explore and play.

I began a Dogs in Public Places Study to examine existing and future off-leash, and 'pet friendly' opportunities for the Rural City of Murray Bridge (current).

Worked with the City of Salisbury to prepare their Dog and Cat Management Plan. This allowed some unexpected actions to emerge such as working with new arrivals to identify and address dog and cat management issues that were of concern to them.

Initiated a study to explore how retirement villages cater for companion dogs living with their human guardians. Interesting to see fenced dog parks being built within retirement villages such as ACH Perry Park and Lightsview (Stocklands).

I continued my independent research on fenced dog parks which I started over 10 years ago. So far, I have audited 60+ fenced dog parks in Australia and overseas including in SA, WA, ACT, QLD, Singapore, and the USA (Texas & California).

Revamped a Checklist for Aged Care Providers titled: ‘Inclusion of ‘personal pets’ or pet ownership in aged care facilities (2021).

Alongside all of this I have been undertaking a PhD at UniSA (Justice and Society) on the human and animal entanglements of pet ownership in aged care facilities and retirement villages.

If you would like to know more about my work or a copy of any reports that are publicly available, please contact me at fiona.balancingactadelaide.com.au

Photos: Concept design with WAX Design + Charlie the dog (SA) and photo supplied by WAX Design; art in fenced dog park built under a freeway (Deep Ellum, Dallas); Adelaide Brighton Cement dog park (The first park I designed in 2014/15 in collaboration with Aspect Studios, dog on blue mound).

01/12/2021

How innovative is this.

A cardboard housing estate on a headland in Sydney could prove a game-changer for native animals that lose their natural homes in bushfires.

03/10/2021

Today is World Animal Day. Take a step for change, to protect all animals (more than human animals).

21/09/2021

https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6844091744188018690/
Great to see a more-than-human approach to the urban.

An emu crossing the Tonkin Highway in Ellenbrook. We need more nature bridges in WA! Video by (IG)... 319 comments on LinkedIn

11/09/2021

Are you an aged care service provider? Want to be 'pet-friendly'? Don't know where to start? Download our Checklist for Aged Care Providers: inclusion of 'personal pets' or pet ownership in aged care facilities (2021). It's a revamp of our 2014 version that was posted on the AWLA Positive Ageing in the Company of Animals website (2014). Love to hear your experiences with 'pet friendly' aged care facilities or the lack of it. Download a copy here https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6841734150991568896/ #

26/08/2021

Happy International Dog Day! 🐶🎉 Not only is our Chief Morale Officer and rescue dog Charlie in the studio today, we also had a busy morning workshopping the design of the new City of Port Lincoln Council Nelson Square Dog Park with Fiona De Rosa at Balancing Act Adelaide - pet friendly planning!

26/08/2021

Morning workshop with WAX Design on designing a new space for people and dogs (fenced dog park) for Port Lincoln Council. Charlie the dog was helping out in the design process. Happy International Dog Day.

25/08/2021

International Dog Day 2001. my beauty - mustang sally

11/08/2021

A big NO NO in my books. Why risk your dogs safety, life??? Tether spots should not be encouraged outside market places, local council buildings etc. What do other people think?? a No No or !!

"An estimated 2,438 dogs were reported as stolen last year, which is a 19 per cent increase from 2019 - and unfortunately only 22 per cent of stolen dogs were reunited with their owners"

09/08/2021

We share public and private spaces with our companion animals 'pets', but how do we include them in the way we plan and design our cities and communities? With the emergence of the concept 'pet-friendly’ (I dislike this word) it might seem that 'pets' are considered, but are they really? Or are they simply squeezed into spaces design for human habitation and needs? The question I ask myself is: What’s in it for our companion animals ‘pets’? In my work, I observe how humans and dogs use, move and interact within open spaces. These observations give me a better insight into how dogs and humans interact with each other within the physical environment. If 'pets' are important to us, we need to re-think the way we incorporate them into the planning and design of our cites, and move beyond the human centric approach.

08/08/2021

There are beautiful people in this world. Giving old dogs a home.

Karen and Jamie Goullet's home has been a happy retreat for senior dogs north of Brisbane for 15 years.

08/08/2021

This dog park fly through was for one of our dog park consultations (2014). This was such a long time ago, but the principles of dog park design have not changed. See previous post on Top 10 Tips on dog park design. The flythrough was to show design that encourages movement through space, and the creation of different zones in a park.

08/08/2021

My first dog park design in 2014. This was done in collaboration with Aspect Studio's (landscape architects). We used mounding as a way to break up the space into different zones and as a method to slow the dogs down from high running. It's still one of my favourite parks - simple and clean design.

08/08/2021

Top 10 Tips for dog park design continued.

08/08/2021

My Top 10 Tips for dog park design (1-7). For more information on planning, design and management of fenced dog parks see ';Unleashed: A guide to successful dog parks' by the Dog and Cat Management Board of SA. I wrote these tips in 2014 and they are still relevant today. https://lnkd.in/gr_j7vzF # design

10/03/2021

HILDA Survey reveals close to two-thirds of Australians have at least one pet, with dogs most popular followed by cats say University of Melbourne experts

07/03/2021

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Women leaving violent situations need to be able to ensure the safety of their companion animals, and a motion before the Victorian parliament is seeking changes to achieve that.

21/02/2021

Join us for this special Webinar via Zoom featuring Dr. Temple Grandin. CERTIFICATE OF ATTENDANCE AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST *Recording access will be sent following registration

21/02/2021

New report out by AHURI on housing and pets

This study investigated the policy and regulatory settings that shape housing options available to households that own companion animals. It considers housing and housing assistance contexts nationally across tenures, sectors (e.g. ownership, private rental housing), emergency/crisis accommodation a...