The unspoken struggle of the Indian pet owner: Taking the society lift

For thousands of pet owners living in apartment towers, taking the society lift with a dog is not a simple matter of pressing a button and going home. What is supposed to be a mundane 30-second commute becomes an exercise in reading the room, managing other people's fears, controlling the dog and, often, swallowing one's own frustration.

The awkwardness is rarely spoken about beyond the elevator doors. But it is there almost every day. And perhaps that is why we so often see viral videos of physical altercations between pet owners and those who are uncomfortable or fearful around animals.

A recent dispute over taking a pet dog in a lift at a high-rise society in Ghaziabad's Raj Nagar Extension escalated into a fight between two women involving a stick, slaps, punches and hair-pulling.

There was also an earlier incident in Noida's Sector 108, where a disagreement between a family with a pet dog and a retired IAS officer over using the elevator was captured on CCTV. The footage showed the man obstructing the lift doors and asking the women to leave with their dog.

Then there are the more serious incidents involving dogs themselves. Residential lifts have also been the setting for reports of people being bitten or attacked by dogs. Such incidents reinforce the fears of residents who are already uncomfortable around animals, while pet owners feel that isolated incidents are being used to justify restrictions on all dogs.

So, whenever a situation arises – when pets, their owners, wary residents and those genuinely fearful of dogs are forced to share an enclosed space – a peculiar kind of calculation begins inside India's high-rise lifts.

It mostly begins with a request that sounds like: “can you please take the next lift?” The pet owner looks at the lift, then at the dog, and makes a choice. Wait. Get in. Or, sometimes, argue.

For people living several floors above the ground, this isn't an occasional inconvenience. It can be part of the daily routine of owning a pet.When a 30-second ride becomes a 10-minute wait

Koustav Das, who has a golden retriever, says he has lost count of the number of times he has waited for another elevator because fellow residents were uncomfortable around his dog.

“There have been countless instances where I have had to wait an eternity with my dog for the lift, since people often say they are scared,” he says.

Waiting becomes particularly difficult in a high-rise.

In a society with 28 floors, even with two operational lifts, waiting for another one can mean another 10 to 15 minutes. And sometimes, Das says, the problem is not that someone was already waiting for the lift with him. It is that residents enter first and then ask him and his dog not to follow.

“I usually don't get into an argument with such folks because the ‘unsaid society rules’ are always stacked against pet owners,” he says.

On some occasions, he has allowed four or five lifts to pass. On another, he chose the stairs. Seven floors.

For someone without a dog, that might sound inconvenient. With a dog, particularly in the heat, it can become physically exhausting.

“Climbing stairs is still fine in winters but in the gruelling summer months, it takes a toll,” he says.

For Das, the larger question is not about insisting that everyone should be comfortable around dogs. It is about whether the responsibility of accommodating that discomfort should invariably fall on the pet owner.

“Societies should stop making arbitrary rules for pet owners and also have rules that allow harmonious existence,” he says.The other side of the lift

For residents who are afraid of dogs, however, sharing an elevator with an unfamiliar animal can be genuinely distressing.

A lift is a small, enclosed space. There is little room to move away if a dog barks, jumps or comes too close. For someone with a severe fear of animals, or a medical condition such as an allergy, even a calm dog may not feel harmless.

That concern also appears in online discussions about pets in apartment societies.

In one Reddit discussion, a pet owner complained about an RWA putting up signs saying pets were not allowed in lifts, pointing out that residents in 12-storey buildings may have difficulty using stairs. Another participant pushed back, describing asthma attacks around animals and arguing that non-pet owners should not be expected to expose themselves to a health risk because someone else has chosen to keep a dog.

The language on both sides can become hostile very quickly. For someone with a severe fear of animals, or a medical condition such as an allergy, even a calm dog may not feel harmless. (Photo: Getty)

For one resident, a dog is a beloved companion and a member of the family. For another, being confined in a lift with that dog can be a frightening experience.advertisementLearning to read the roomFor many pet owners, the solution has become an informal etiquette of their own.

Jigyasa lives on the 26th floor with her eight-year-old Shih Tzu in Noida. She says navigating the lift is now part of their daily routine.

“We often wait for the next lift if someone inside is nervous, or we pull our dogs close and keep them leashed tightly behind us,” she says. Her dog is old and gentle, she says, but residents have become more cautious about animals over the years.

“People are much more cautious now, frequently asking if he'll bite.”

For her, the response is usually to accommodate. Not necessarily because she believes her dog poses a danger, but because avoiding a confrontation is often easier than having one.Not all requests are polite

In some cases, it is a look of disgust or a snooty comment - a suggestion that the dog simply does not belong in the lift - that leaves pet owners fuming.

“I once got into a verbal brawl after an old man told me that I had no business bringing my dog into the lift. What frustrated me was not that he was uncomfortable around dogs, but the assumption that his discomfort automatically gave him the right to decide whether my dog could use a common facility,” recalls one pet owner.

Dog walkers, too, often bear the brunt of this coldness and snootiness.

“I’ve noticed that people still speak to us with courtesy, but the tone changes when our dog walker takes Pablo out for a stroll,” she says. Dog walkers often bear the brunt of this coldness and snootiness, and are asked not to take 'this' lift. (Photo: Unsplash) But not every dog - or every owner - has the same options

Gargy says having a small dog makes these situations easier.

“We are lucky that we have a poodle, a small breed dog, that we can at least lift our dog whenever someone says they are afraid,” she says.

Larger dogs don't offer that option. For their owners, “just take the stairs” can be considerably more complicated. Pet owners with small-breed dogs have it comparatively easier. (Photo: Unsplash) The unwritten rules

Much of the elevator etiquette remains informal. Pet owners leash their dogs tightly. Some muzzle them. Small dogs are picked up. Owners try to stand away from other passengers. Some wait for another lift if someone is visibly uncomfortable.

And residents, in turn, may ask to take a different elevator, wait for the next one themselves, or simply tolerate the brief discomfort. There is no universal script. The problem is that, without one, every elevator ride can become a fresh negotiation.

What happens when someone refuses to share a lift with a dog? What happens when the pet owner refuses to wait? What happens when a resident has a genuine medical condition? And what happens when a dog actually behaves aggressively?

For now, every lift ride remains a quiet exercise in compromise — a few seconds in which pet owners and wary neighbours must find a way to share the same space.- EndsPublished By: Medha ChawlaPublished On: Sep 20, 2026 11:27 IST