The first edition of National Dog Week begins this Sunday, October 1. Until October 8, the organizers are creating events throughout France, and intend to highlight the beneficial role of this animal in society. The decryption of sociologist Jean Viard.
This is therefore the first edition of National Dog Week, from today until October 8 in several cities in France. Events are organized everywhere, the idea is to highlight the beneficial role of dogs in society and to educate future adopters. Why is this interesting?
franceinfo: It is not anecdotal, Jean Viard, to speak on franceinfo with you, about this relationship between the French and dogs?
Jean Viard: I believe that the relationship with animals, in a fairly general way, is an extremely important relationship, because first of all we are one animal among others. There is also a major issue, because we have excluded the animal from the city. For a long time, people in the city traveled with horses. So there were animals in the city.
And then the 20th century, especially after the war of 14, made the animal disappear from the city, and even the domestic animal, in France, there are many domestic animals, there are around 7 million and a half dogs, and 13 million cats – there are more cats, which is also bad for the birds – it’s enormous. So the Russians have a little more than us, so there are other countries which are very keen on domestic animals, and now we put them in places like, for example, in the courts where there are dogs that are trained, when we testify, for example, we hold a dog, often a golden retriever, this type of very calm dog because it soothes, it takes away the stress.
And I think that for man, the relationship with the animal is extremely positive, first of all because we communicate, because he welcomes you, because we can talk to him. You can tell him whatever you want, he doesn’t respond, he looks at you with his big, kind eyes, so you actually have the impression, for once, of being understood. I think it’s deeply calming. And having animals is extremely important, precisely in the relationship with what is living, what is natural, to see it live, to see it die, to see it be sick. There are all these elements that seem important to me.
A CSA study, carried out last year by Centrale Canine, says that 84% of French people like dogs, 33% of French people have at least one. And then 40% of French people would like dogs to be more accepted in the workplace?
Yes, I saw those numbers. The dog is also a companion. We must always think of the 19 million French people who live alone, for whom the dog is often the only true companion. And then, there are plenty of working dogs: the hunting dog for example, which has very special treatment, the fire dog, the police dog, everything that relates to security. There, there is a use of the dog as an animal. There are even a lot of people in the countryside who have a dog because a dog serves as a doorbell in the countryside. Often the peasants have a very small one, who barks, and a big one, who looks mean. One which announces that you are arriving, and the other which is responsible for saying: attention, I am here…
80% of people who have a house with a garden have an animal, especially a dog. In fact, the animal and the garden, the pavilion, it’s almost a kit, because in the city, there are much fewer dogs than there were 30 or 20 years ago. Remember a time when sidewalks were extremely dangerous. We have made very strict policies, there are many fewer dogs for people who live in cities. On the other hand, it has become an element of peri-urban life.
We remember the famous dirt bikes which quickly disappeared. But it remains a political subject. Robert Ménard, the mayor of Béziers, put in place this summer a compulsory genetic passport for dogs in his city, in order to find, and of course sanction, owners who do not pick up their animal’s needs in the streets , and those who abandon them too. So, politics must sometimes invest in this field too?
Well, I will simply remind you that abandoning your dog means 3 years in prison and a fine of 45,000 euros, it is a crime. The dog is protected, the cat too. When we take it, it is a responsibility towards a living being, and therefore we cannot abandon it. But I think we must above all say that it soothes, it creates a bond. When you walk with a dog, people talk to you. When you walk alone, people talk to you a lot less, because the dog allows the connection, and it creates a form of bond that allows you to talk to each other without knowing each other. It also has this relational function and I think that in our societies, it is very important, everything that can promote relationships.