Scottsdale has been ranked the top city in the U.S. for dogs

The East Valley suburb has gone to the dogs.

August 23, 2024

Image: A dog lays in front of a public art sculpture

Barna Tanko/Alamy Stock Photo

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The “West’s Most Western Town” is a doggone place to own a pooch, according to LawnStarter.

Scottsdale topped a list of the most dog-friendly cities in the U.S. released on Thursday by the online platform for lawn care.

The Texas-based company compiled the list in honor of National Dog Day on Aug. 26. According to its site, LawnStarter compared the 500 largest U.S. cities using 34 metrics like access to dog-friendly housing and businesses, friendliness of dog-related laws and affordability of canine services like training and dog sitting among 34 total metrics.

Scottsdale was top dog because of the large number of canine-friendly businesses, meetups and accommodations.

Other cities in the top 10 include Asheville, North Carolina; Santa Fe, New Mexico; Bend, Oregon; Austin, Texas; Santa Monica, California; and Orlando, Florida. Tucson was ranked fourth on the list.

It's not the first time Scottsdale has earned honors for being friendly for four-legged friends. Earlier this month, it topped WalletHub’s list of the “Most Pet-Friendly Cities” in the U.S.

Benjamin Leatherman is a staff writer for Phoenix New Times where he focuses primarily on arts, culture, music and nightlife. He joined New Times in 2003. Prior to that, he contributed to magazines such as Tips & Tricks and The Wrestler. Benjamin has earned multiple awards from the Arizona Press Club including an award for sports enterprise reporting in 2009 and an award for statewide arts reporting in 2014. He holds a bachelor’s of arts in journalism from Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication.

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