Dog friendly?

[bdsilver]

I am looking to move from Sydney to Singapore. I own a small dog and was wondering how dog friendly Singapore is.

For instance, can you take pets on public transport? Are they allowed on the beaches? Can you walk them off the leash?

Thanks people!

Brett

[dragonboat]

Hi Brett,

Dogs are quite well accepted by most Singaporean. However, they are not allowed on public transport, shopping malls and in most restaurants. You can always bring your dog to the beach for a swim. For smaller breed, you may walk them off the leash but for the bigger ones, you have to leash them in public places. For your info, you can also bring your dog to Dog Run - a place for dogs to "socialize" with one another. There is one in Bishan Park and another in West Coast Park. See you there...

Michael.

[jpatokal]

See also http://www.singaporeexpats.com/forum/ftopic926.html

[Yutenji]

Hmmm. Not sure I agree with the earlier replies to this. I'd go with Dog-tolerant, but not Dog-friendly. Example, Muslims, who make up about 10-20% of the population, regard dogs as dirty animals and will go to great length to avoid touching them. (No hostility, just total avoidance). Similarly (perhaps for the same reason) many taxi drivers will not allow dogs in their taxis. That might not sound like a big deal, but try getting your dog to the vet in a hurry without using taxi. Finally, I've heard (but I confess I don't know this for a fact) that if a dog bites a child, regardless of the magnitude (or not) of injury, the dog will be put down.
All that said, we've also had a small dog here for the last six years, and apart from people running away from it (!) we've had no problems. Just like so many other things, if you know and follow the rules, you're unlikely to have a problem.
Good luck