When I was in San Francisco last month doing some book promotion, I could not help but notice how many dogs there were. In fact, it seemed like everywhere I looked there was a dog. Turns out, I was not too far off. A recent listing in USA Today noted that San Francisco was the fourth top city in the country for off-leash dog parks, a pretty good indication of dogs that need to run!
The top city on the list, Portland, Oregon boasts 32 dog parks which makes it the city with the highest per capita number of off-leash dog parks among the nation's 100 largest cities. Norfolk, Virginia, is second, followed by Las Vegas and then San Francisco. All I can say is that Portland must be literally overflowing with dogs because San Francisco at #4 seems to be!
It turns out that off-leash dog parks are the fasted growing segment of city parks, according to study by the Trust for Public Land. All of which makes sense when you realize that there are now more households with dogs (43 million) than with kids (38 million.)
In many ways, dog parks have become social hubs for people as well as pets. Future husbands and wives meet there; job leads are exchanged; business ideas get circulated and friendships are forged. In other words, true community in the actual rather than virtual sense of the word!
I personally don't know what I would do without my off leash park. Three dogs are impossible to walk, especially when they outweigh me, and the opportunity to roam, sniff and run each day is incredibly important to my pack. And most dog people are loyal, trustworthy and reliable, just like their pups.
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