My dog changed the law!

Angus the miniature schnauzer has changed pets’ lives forever!

- Claire Isaac

Jo Cooper lets out a sigh when asked if she’s proud of what she’s achieved. The Sydney singer and musician and her 14-year-old miniature schnauzer Angus have just forced a change in the state’s strata laws, thanks to a ruling in their favour in the NSW Court of Appeal, which means apartment buildings can no longer have a blanket ban on pets.

However, the personal cost of the pair’s five-year battle, both mental and monetary, still goes on.

“It really feels like it’s never-ending,” she says of a fight that’s cost her hundreds of thousands of dollars and seen her abused, bullied and fearing for her safety.

For Jo, the journey began in 2015 when she and Angus moved in the prestigious Horizon building in inner city Darlinghurst – a building, like many in NSW, that had a strict no-pets policy.