Paw & Order

After finding her strata home, musician Jo Cooper learnt the unfortunate news that her building had a blanket ban on pets. Jo, the owner of a miniature schnauzer named Angus, was left with two options – she could break the rules and sneak Angus into the building, or she could give her fur-baby up for adoption. The latter proved a thought too terrible to stand, so rather than ‘sneak the dog in and leave the by-laws alone’, as suggested by her strata committee and fellow pet owners in the building. Jo fought to change the law and took her battle all the way to the New South Wales Supreme Court of Appeal in hope that no one else would find themselves in the same situation again.

What followed was a long and gruelling five-and-a-half-year legal battle which culminated in Jo successfully changing the law, securing a victory for all strata owners, and positively affecting hundreds of thousands of apartment residents and their pets across the state of New South Wales.

During her battle, Jo was buoyed by the constant support of fellow pet owners who helped Jo keep going to her landmark victory. Paw & Order is a heartfelt thank you to the people (and their pets) who stood for real and lasting change – and won.