Dog parks elevate Melbourne to top 20 in global study on the world’s best places for pooches
Melbourne is celebrating International Dog Day with barking rights over the quality and quantity of its dog parks. And the State Government has brought a $2.5 million bone to the party.
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Melbourne has knocked it out of the dog park, pawforming well in a global liveability study for pet pooches.
Based on infrastructure, responsible ownership and the cost of raising a dog, Melbourne ranked 15 in the world with an overall score of 87.10.
And the State Government has thrown a $2.5 million bone to build 17 new dog parks statewide, giving the Victorian capital a chance at retaining its canine crown.
The new parks in Melbourne will be at Pakenham, Carrum Downs, Dandenong North, Eynesbury, Belgrave, Mill Park and Altona.
Regional locations comprise Ararat, Buninyong, Yarragon, Portland, Kilmore, Belmont, Shepparton, Mildura, Swan Hill and Warracknabeal, with most to be open before year’s end.
“Now more than ever, we realise the value of having open green space close to where we live,’’ Environment Minister Lily D’Ambrosio said.
“These new dog parks will deliver that for communities across Victoria.”
The only other Australian city to make the top 50 was Sydney, which scored 78.19 and was ranked at 34 in the global study by pet insurer Coya.
It found that Melburnians kept hounds happy with the second highest number of dog friendly parks in the survey – second only to New York, US.
Melbourne also scored well in the pet affordability stakes.
San Francisco, US, topped the list with a perfect score of 100 followed by Seattle, US on 99.08 and Tel Aviv, Israel on 95.04.
One of Melbourne’s best known dog owners – Molly Meldrum – said the result was no surprise.
“Melbourne is fantastic for dogs, people love them and are very welcoming” he said.
“I take my dog Ziggy everywhere. He even comes into Coles with me to do the shopping; all the check out people know him.”
Ziggy was also a regular at the off leash park near his Richmond home, Meldrum said.
The pet insurer Coya study was timed to celebrate International Dog Day on Wednesday.
According to the study the lifetime cost of owning a dog in Melbourne was about $20,000, compared to the staggering $48,000 it cost to raise Fido in Zurich, Switzerland.
Melbourne’s reputation as a dog friendly city was further boosted by record numbers of pets being adopted during lockdown.
In May, The Lost Dogs Home recorded its biggest month for adoptions in two years when 566 dogs and cats from the North Melbourne and Cranbourne facility found their forever homes.
Demand for dogs has remained high with up to 500 applications still being received per dog.
The Lost Dogs Home spokesperson Suzana Talevski said surrender rates had fallen during lockdown.
There were 162 pets surrendered between March 1 and August 25, 2020 compared to the same period in 2019 when 197 dogs and cats were relinquished.
Ms Talevski said Melbourne’s love affair with canines was undeniable.
“Whether it’s the luscious parks and endless trail walks or pulling up a chair in a dog friendly beer garden or cafe, Melbourne’s options for spending time with your pooch are endless,” she said.
“Now is a great time to start doing your research on all the places you will take your doggo once lockdown is over.”
TOP DOG CITIES
1 San Francisco, US
2 Seattle US
3 Tel Aviv, Israel
4 Prague, Czechia
5 Hamburg, Germany
6 Barcelona, Spain
7 Warsaw Poland
8 Chicago US
9 Toronto, Canada
10 Lisbon, Portugal
11 Copenhagen, Denmark
12 Madrid, Spain
13 Vienna, Austria
14 Munich, Germany
15 Melbourne, Australia
17 Berlin, Germany
18 Los Angeles, US
19 Stockholm, Sweden
20 Milan, Italy
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