With front-page headlines today on Libya, East Coast earthquake and Hurricane Irene in the western Atlantic, some overworked (and short staffed) editors may have missed news from Dog Fancy magazine that the most dog-friendly city in the U.S. is Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, mentions Grumpy Editor.
The revelation comes, appropriately, during “dog days,” defined as the hottest and most sultry summer days between early July and early September.
In naming the winner of the 2011 DogTown USA competition, Ernie Stone, Dog Fancy editor, relates: “What we discovered is that whether a dog likes a place to run and hike, loves to mingle downtown, or needs a new home, dogs and their owners have it made in Coeur d’Alene, a little slice of dog heaven.”
Coeur d’Alene, with a population of about 45,000, is 30 miles east of Spokane, Wash.
Criteria used to select the winning city include an abundance of dog-friendly open spaces and dog parks, events celebrating dogs and their owners, ample veterinary care, abundant pet supply and other services, and municipal laws that support and protect all pets, cites the magazine.
Four regional winners are: Northeast, Doylestown, Pa.; Southeast, Knoxville, Tenn.; Northwest, Bend, Ore., and Southwest, Santa Cruz, Calif.
Full story on DogTown USA is in the October issue of Dog Fancy.
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