RESIDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS OF FREE-ROAMING DOGS IN JALAN PERDANA GRIYA, JIMBARAN, BALI

Abstract

Free-roaming dogs in residential areas may create concerns related to community safety, public health, and animal welfare. This exploratory qualitative descriptive study examined residents’ perceptions of free-roaming dogs in Jalan Perdana Griya, Jimbaran, Bali. Data were collected through a semi-structured open-ended questionnaire distributed via Google Forms to ten residents who had observed or encountered free-roaming dogs in the neighborhood. The written responses were analyzed by repeated reading, assigning initial codes to meaningful statements, grouping related codes into categories, developing descriptive themes, and summarizing recurring response patterns using simple descriptive frequencies. The analysis showed that respondents commonly reported seeing free-roaming dogs in shared residential spaces, preferred to keep a safe distance when encountering them, expressed concern about bites and possible disease transmission, suggested contacting competent parties when dogs appeared sick or aggressive, and mentioned responsible ownership, vaccination, sterilization, and community awareness as possible preventive actions. These findings indicate that residents perceived free-roaming dogs as both a safety concern and an animal welfare issue. Because the study was limited to ten respondents from one residential area, the findings should be interpreted as an exploratory description of local perceptions rather than as evidence of dog population size or causal factors.