Dog City USA

Back in May, I commented on the dog-friendliness factor here in Portland. Well, I wasn’t just woofin’.

It’s now official.

Dog Fancy magazine’s October issue ranks Portland at No. 1 as the best all-around city for dogs in America.

In their second annual DogTown USA contest, Dog Fancy states they

“researched, ranked, and rated cities across the nation to discover the best of the best. During our evaluation, we considered access to top veterinary professionals, dog parks, and canine-friendly businesses, as well as shelter-euthanasia rates and owner responsibility. No bone was left unburied.”

Portland’s qualifications as top dog? A high pooch-to-human ratio (there are 136,332 dogs living in Portland, which has a human population of 554,130) and 33 city-maintained parks with off-leash areas, making the city “one giant dog paradise.”

Other factors included the dog-oriented events like the Doggie Dash and Pug Crawl, as well as the proliferation of doggy daycare and grooming businesses.

Portland beat out Sanford, Fla.; Albuquerque, N.M.; San Diego; Bellingham, Wash.; Palo Alto, Calif.; and New York City, which is home to 1.5 million dogs.

Sounds like pints (and water dishes) all ’round at the Lucky Lab.

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4 comments August 28th, 2006