SEATTLE — Dog owners in Western Washington love their pets, and whether it’s Boxer owners in Bellingham or Rovers in Renton, a select few cities rank among the most dog friendly in the state.
Believe it or not, the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue area was ranked fifth in Washington by Rexmont Real Estate. Olympia-Tumwater dog owners came in fourth; Bremerton-Silverdale ranked third. Bellingham was in second and Washington’s most dog-friendly community – the Mount Vernon-Anacortes area of Skagit County!
Part of the Seattle area’s ranking was thanks to having the most pet-friendly trails. But, according to the study, there are fewer veterinarians concentrated in the Seattle area, about 0.53 per 1,000 jobs.
In comparison, Skagit County scored 90 out of 100 because the area has the most dog-friendly trails and almost one veterinarian per 1,000 jobs.
The study considered the number of dog-friendly outdoor spaces, activities, services and veterinary workers. It sources data from BringFido, All Trails and the Bureau of Labor Statistics to come up with the ranking.
Each factor is then indexed to produce a dog-friendliness score out of 100.
After Seattle, Portland ranked sixth, followed by Spokane, Yakima and the Tri-Cities.