In the first of her two-part series on the place of household pets in Hong Kong’s social life, Joyce Yip does a stocktaking of how our furry friends are being treated in public spaces.

More than a decade ago, Jen Chan got chased down by security guards on one of her visits to the IFC mall. Her offense was that she had brought her pet dog, a 68-kilogram long-hair mongrel called Jimmy, into the premises.  

Undeterred, Chan continued to bring Jimmy to her hair and nail appointments at the mall for the next 13 years. Gradually, the security guards got used to seeing Chan with her dog and gave up trying to restrict access. The attitudinal shift also had to do with the fact that a handful of luxury boutiques in the upmarket shopping center in Central had begun opening their doors to pet dogs, sometimes even leash-free. 

“I let go of his leash, and he jumps onto a shop couch. The crowd goes wild. Everyone is thrilled to see us,” says Chan, who in the meantime has founded the non-profit animal rescue organization Paws United Charity. “There was a time when people would run away from dogs on the street, even those on a leash. But nowadays pets are conversation-openers. I appreciate this change.”

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Hong Kong’s public spaces and facilities have turned more pet-friendly since they were reopened after the closures caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Shopping malls and outdoor markets took the first step. Public parks and sitting-out areas followed their lead. In 2023 alone, 54 more Hong Kong parks were declared open to pets by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department, which makes more than 170 out of the 1600 parks and gardens managed by the government department pet-friendly. 

The natural environs of Nam Sang Wai in New Territories are fast becoming a major draw for owners looking to have a fun day out with their pets. (COURTESY OF KATHARINE WONG @CUST.KARLIE.SHIBAINU)

Man’s best friend

According to “Companion Animal Ownership and Human Well-Being in a Metropolis — The Case of Hong Kong”, a study published by the University of Hong Kong in 2019, the decision to get a pet is often linked to prospective owners living, often alone, in small spaces. The sizes of a vast number of Hong Kong flats rule out the possibility of sharing the space with a partner and, even less so, starting a family — evident from the city’s steadily shrinking marriage and birth rates. Hence, a tail-wagging roommate often serves as a surrogate for human company, and in some cases, an antidote to depression and anxiety caused by isolation. 

Unsurprisingly, the demand for household pets has multiplied severalfold since the pandemic — a time of social distancing and home quarantines, when the desperation for companionship soared. 

According to a Euromonitor study published in September, the number of household pets in Hong Kong has increased from 1.14 million in 2018 to 1.19 million in 2023, with dogs making 26 percent of the total number.

The Wai mall in Tai Wai has introduced a range of facilities, including pet-friendly elevators and pet toilets, to attract a wider clientele. (COURTESY OF KATHARINE WONG @CUST.KARLIE.SHIBAINU)

The same study also states that almost a fifth of pet owners in Hong Kong fall under the Generation Z category, i.e., from the tweens to mid-20s. 

Among the several commercial enterprises trying to woo this group with their pet-friendly policies is the West Kowloon Cultural District. Its Art Park has welcomed four-legged visitors since it opened in 2014. The space comes with an off-leash zone, is dotted with waste disposal stations and has a number of pet-friendly restaurants with al-fresco seating, allowing owners to stay close to their pets as they enjoy chicken pizzas and beef burgers prepared with an eye on what suits them best. 

According to a WKCD spokesperson, an average of 20,000 people visited the Art Park every day in December. As per its 2022-23 annual report, the food and beverage sales of the cultural district’s retail, dining and entertainment tenants have increased by 75 percent; while commercial leasing income has increased by close to 400 percent year-on-year. Doubtless, a significant percentage of these profits is owed to people who bring their pets over to enjoy the district’s sprawling lawns and sea breeze on a regular basis. 

The Airside mall in Kai Tak has launched a series of programs to attract patrons who like to step out with their pets. (PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)

Setting a new benchmark

The Mills — a retail and cultural space in Tsuen Wan developed by Nan Fung Group — has set a new benchmark in pioneering human-pet integration in Hong Kong. Since opening to the public in 2018, it remains one of the few indoor commercial spaces where dogs are allowed to go muzzle-free, provided they are on a leash. Employees trained in handling dogs keeps an eye out to prevent untoward incidents. 

Kai Tak’s Airside, another Nan Fung Group-operated mall which opened in September, however, is less welcoming to four-legged visitors. Leashed pets can be lowered onto the ground only in designated areas and must otherwise be pushed around in trolleys, which visitors can borrow for a refundable deposit of HK$500 ($64). Twelve trolleys are available in two sizes, with a capacity of up to 50 kg. These cannot be reserved. While the mall’s stores are well stocked with pet products, its interiors are heavily perfumed — a curious choice, given a dog’s sense of smell could be 100,000 times more acute than that of a human’s. 

Asked about the difference in pet policies followed at the Mills and Airside, Nan Fung Group’s public relations team says: “Catering to the needs of the people in the neighborhood, while we promote awareness of pet welfare and pet-friendliness, we also care about the feelings of non-pet owners who may not welcome close contact with pets”. 

Hong Kong Polytechnic University academic Janelle Chan says that most commercial establishments won’t adopt pet-friendly measures at the cost of inconveniencing patrons who are not keen on pets. (PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)

Win some, lose some

Most pet-friendly shopping malls in Hong Kong insist that the pets brought into their premises be made to wear a muzzle or carried in a stroller or bag, or held on a leash. For instance, leashed dogs of any weight are allowed to walk across the common spaces inside the IFC mall, especially since these serve as a vital link connecting the ferry terminals to the hub of Central’s business district. However, a number of pet owners complain that security guards have coerced them into carrying their pets while passing through the mall’s common areas.  

When owners bring pets to hotel staycations, often both end up staying mostly confined to their room, with limited access to the property’s public spaces. In restaurants, pets are restricted to al-fresco dining areas, as per the guidelines of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department. 

Janelle Chan, an assistant professor at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University’s School of Hotel and Tourism Management, co-authored the 2023 paper “Traveling with Pets: Designing Hospitality Services for Pet Owners/Parents and Hotel Guests”. She reveals that an additional 25 to 40 percent of time and effort is required to clean up hotel rooms previously occupied by animals. Other challenges before the hospitality industry include setting clear boundaries between guests with and without pets. Some hotels offer separate elevators and check-in counters to pet owners, but most of their dining outlets remain off-limits to four-legged guests.  

“In general, Hong Kong is not very pet-friendly,” Chan says. Most of the city’s commercial establishments won’t adopt pet-friendly measures at the cost of inconveniencing patrons, she points out. “Sure, the number of pet owners is increasing, but the market share is not big enough to disrupt these businesses’ regular customers. That’s why you don’t see a lot of commercial outlets eager to develop pet-friendly facilities.” 

Candy Ho — not her real name — is one of those “regular customers” who, when she visits the WKCD, makes it a point to move away to the opposite side of the road if she sees an animal on a leash approaching her. For the same reason, she is yet to visit the Mills.

“I can put up with being in the same space as animals if there are 1 to 2 meters between them and me, and also if they’re on a leash or being carried,” Ho says. “The Mills is not that big a space, so although I am interested in going, I don’t think I’ll ever bother.” 

Jen Chan, who founded Paws United Charity, is conducting workshops in schools in an effort to push young people to cultivate greater sensitivity toward household pets. (PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)

Pet sensitization

At the other end of the spectrum is PUC’s Chan, dreaming of a more pet-friendly Hong Kong and the day when her five dogs will be allowed on public transport at least once a week. 

“I understand that we can’t have a dog on board during peak hours when a train is jam-packed with passengers, but how about a middle ground?” she asks. One of the hurdles in the way, Chan concedes, is that “Hong Kong owners are not great at training their pets. They are too loving and forgiving. If their pets have a tendency to attack strangers, they’ll keep them at home forever instead of giving them proper training.” She feels owners should venture outside more with their pets so that the animals can develop a better sense of being in a social environment. 

Hong Kong’s Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department is doing its bit toward ensuring the welfare of domesticated animals. Over the past five years, it has hosted school seminars, dog training courses, a TV program promoting responsible ownership and even distributed multilingual leaflets designed specifically for domestic helpers, who may be the pets’ core caretakers while their owners are at work. 

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While the PUC hosts pet-friendly activities like yoga and even movie screenings at the Eaton Hotel in Jordan from time to time, Chan is trying to push the city’s young people to cultivate greater sensitivity toward household pets. In December, she brought her 6-year-old Old English sheepdog and two-year-old Pomeranian to HKFYG Lee Shau Kee College in Tin Shui Wai for a workshop on responsible pet ownership. Activities included lessons on picking up faux “faeces”. Students were encouraged to closely interact with the dogs, which, as Chan says, children with a sheltered upbringing, not uncommon in Hong Kong families, do not often get a chance to do.

“Misconceptions about pets often starts with a mother telling her child that dogs bite passers-by. Such a child will grow up having negative thoughts about animals. Our job is to wash off some of that old thinking,” she says. “Hong Kong has a long way to go, but at least we’re starting somewhere.”  

Chan of HK PolyU agrees, adding that she hopes to see more pet-friendly facilities, including, perhaps, a separate section for four-legged guests in restaurants, with more specifically-targeted takeaway options.

Ho, on her part, is trying to avoid getting into conflicts with pet owners. She has found out that owners usually oblige when she requests them to restrain their pets when she is walking past them.  

“I’m not against having dogs on trains, but maybe put them in pet-exclusive compartments,” she says, finally bringing herself up to talking about the subject in a lighter vein.