LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Las Vegas ranks at No.8 on a list of the most pet-friendly cities in the U.S., and both North Las Vegas and Henderson also appeared in the Top 50.
A new survey by WalletHub gave all three cities good marks for “outdoor pet-friendliness” — a measure of the number of dog parks, lands devoted to parks, a “walk score” and dog-friendly trails. Las Vegas ranked No.3 in the U.S. in the category, behind only San Francisco and Irvine, California.
The No.1 city in the U.S. is Scottsdale, Arizona. See the Top 10 below, plus rankings for North Las Vegas (No.19 overall) and Henderson (No.49 overall).
And North Las Vegas could improve its ranking in the outdoor category soon as it works on plans to add three new dog parks. City officials said recently they are planning new dog parks at Aliante Nature Discovery Park, Aviary Park and Deer Springs Park.
Las Vegas recently opened a huge dog park at Lone Mountain Park featuring three separate fenced areas with plenty of room to run your dog.
Some of the highlights of scores for Las Vegas in the survey:
- No.1: Veterinarians per Capita
- No.1: Dog Parks per Capita
- No.12: Animal Shelters per Capita
- No:21: Dog-Friendly Restaurants per Capita
- No:43: Veterinary Care Costs
- No.45: Pet Businesses per Capita
- No.46: Dog Insurance Premium
- No.55: Walk Score
The survey also measured the annual cost of having a pet and "pet health & wellness," which included a wide variety of factors from dog-friendly restaurants to animal protection laws.
Most of the cities in the Top 10 outscored Las Vegas in the pet health & wellness category, but Las Vegas also did well in ranks for pet budget (No.35), a category that includes veterinary care costs, minimum pet-care provider rates and dog insurance premiums.
The full list of rankings for 100 cities with the highest populations is available on WalleHub's website. Detailed methodology is also provided there.
