Recently I was cleaning up my file of Calgary Herald articles and came across one I did on dog parks in 2007. Since then, while I haven't become a dog owner, I have gained a lot of experience and appreciation for the urban dog culture as a result of dog-sitting for friends - a new form of "friends with benefits!" In fact, we often house-sit at the same time, which means we get to explore a new part of the city, which is kinda like being a tourist, especially when it is an ultra modern glass-house that looks out to Calgary's River Park - one of our most popular dog parks..

As a result I have experienced first-hand the socialization that happens not only between the dogs, but with dog owners at dog parks. In some ways, the urban dog park has become the new patio, plaza or pub, where people gather with their neighbours to share stories and information. In fact, they are probably even more loyal to visiting the local dog park, than the pub, patio or plaza - at least twice a day in many cases. Who goes to the pub twice a day almost everyday?

I am amazed at the number of people that are out in the dog parks no matter what the weather and in Calgary that can be -30 degrees. Sometimes River Park is like a parade with hundreds of people of all ages and backgrounds walking the promenade which has been carved from all the walkers over the years. It is like a playground on the edges of the promenade with dogs running after balls, frisbees, sticks and each other. I love the animation. I don't think any urban planner or landscape architect designed this wonderful linear park, and I doubt is was originally conceived as dog park. Good urban planning often just happens?

I have also come to appreciate Calgary has some pretty amazing dog parks - 150 according to the City of Calgary's website. This led me to do some research on which cities are the most dog-friendly.

In December 2011, a USA Today feature story "Fastest-growing urban parks are for the dogs" indicated that there were 569 off-leash dog parks in the 100 largest U.S. cities in 2010, a 34 percent jump in 5 years, while overall parks increased only 3 percent. It also indicated that Portland, Oregon has the highest number of dog parks per captia with 5.7 for every 100,000 residents. And, that there are more households in the USA with dogs than with kids, 43 million and 38 million. Much of the information was very similar to my 2007 Calgary Herald column, which you can read below.

In fact, Calgary with 150 designated dog parks has 13.6 dog parks for every 100,000 people - 2.4 times Portland. Does that make us the dog park capital of North America? I also found out Calgary has 122,325 dogs which is about 1 for every 10 people, or about 815 dogs per dog park. The Calgary Herald even created a map of where the dogs live in the city. And while there is a significant population of dogs in the suburbs there are lots living in the downtown area. In the 21st century, people love their dogs!

There is even dog-friendly hotels. I know people who plan their vacations around hotels that will take dog. High-end hotels now have dogs as part of their amenities, so guest who are missing their dog can take the hotel dog for a walk.

Since 2007, urban planners have also introduce the concept of walkscore and walkable communities. I am not sure how the dog parks fit into the walkscore, but I expect it should have a very high priority (higher than grocery store and maybe on par with schools) given there are more dogs than kids in the USA and that many dog owners walk their dog twice a day - who goes to the grocery store twice a day, almost every day of the year?

Perhaps we should be ranking communities based on their Dogscore? (You can read more on my thoughts on dog parks and urban living, and some of the initiatives in other cities across North America in my 2007 column below). I have also added some additional Calgary dog park pics at the end.

Learn more about Calgary's parks in my blog: Calgary: City of Parks & Pathways.