Pets At Our Place recognises the great companionship pets provide renters in public and community housing.
The idea
Pets play an important part in the lives of so many people, including the many residents living in Victoria’s public and community housing.
Finding a way to celebrate public and social housing residents and their pets in a lasting and fun way is what led to the idea of creating the first Pets At Our Place calendar.
In August 2024 the search began to find the best furry, feathered and woolly pets living with renters in Victoria’s public and community housing.
The competition was a great success. After a strict assessment process, 12 Victorian residents and their pets were chosen to take part in a photoshoot to become the faces of the 2025 calendar.
The calendar showcases the variety of pets living in public and community housing and the psychological, physical and social benefits of pet ownership. It also recognises how renters foster a sense of community with the help of their barking, meowing, chirping or snuffling pets.
Finding owners and their pets
We asked renters to tell us about their pets and include a photo with their entry. We also provided a few optional questions:
- What is your pet’s personality like?
- What funny things does your pet do?
- How did your pet come into your life?
A panel decided which pets and their owners would feature in the calendar based on their written entries. The result is a calendar with cute photos of not only popular pet choices – cats, dogs and bunnies – but also more unusual pets such as a Black-capped Lory and a sheep named Harriet.
There’s plenty of evidence showing the benefits pets can have for their owners. Heartfelt comments from the owners clearly show their pets are adored and appreciated too.
Take a look at who's inside the calendar
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Behind the scenes
Along with dodging a slobbery tennis ball, sheep droppings and an overly amorous chihuahua (yes Buddy, don’t deny it), the photo shoot team met a:
- glamorous, pearl-necklace-wearing cat
- camera-loving bird
- cat, dog and rat who watched the photo shoot through a window
- gentle, slow-moving whippet
- hoop jumping border collie x kelpie.
Much like the pets themselves, this project brought together many Department staff including people from Public Engagement, Legal, as well as the Community Operations and Practice Leadership Division (COPL) branches, all providing their expertise to make this possible.
A thank you for participating
The pet owners chosen for the calendar received a:
- professional standard portrait taken by the photographer
- gift voucher
- copies of the calendar to share with their neighbours and loved ones.
Getting a calendar
The 2025 calendars are intended for public and community housing renters and include a handy list of key contacts.
A limited number of calendars were distributed to our housing offices, the Victorian Public Tenants Association and several community housing organisations.
They are available from reception areas in these locations for as long as stocks last. They are not for individual sale.
To see social media posts about Pets At Our Place, follow the Department on:
The Pets At Our Place 2025 calendar was created in collaboration with Homes Victoria. We thank the Victorian Public Tenants Association and our community housing providers for their support.
