Queen City Dog Blog
A dog’s guide to living in cat-crazy CharlotteArchive for January, 2009
Survival of the Fittest
Men’s Health recently released their list of the Fittest and Fattest Cities in the U.S. for 2009. The good news? Out of the 50 most populated areas that were studied, we placed 9th. The bad news? We placed 9th on the Fattest Cities list, dropping 15 spots since last year. OUCH. If Darwin’s theory was correct, what does that mean for the Queen City? Clearly, there is some work to be done here. It is important to note, however, that Men’s Health did recognize that Charlotte ranks pretty high in the park acreage per capita department. In fact, we placed 8th out of 50 (in a good way) in that category. The problem is that it doesn’t appear that enough of us are actually making use of those parks.
Ironically, the AKC just released their dog breed registration statistics for 2008, and they even broke it down by city. Labrador retrievers took top honors in practically every city. In Charlotte, 8 out of the top 10 breeds are medium or large dogs. These dogs need EXERCISE. Funny, that’s just what Charlotteans need too. AND we have plenty of parks (visit http://maps.co.mecklenburg.nc.us/website/parklocator/ for assistance locating a nearby park, nature preserve or greenway).
So let’s try putting these things together. Take your dog for a walk on the greenway. Explore some trails in the local parks. They’re not only FREE, but can improve the health of you and your dog(s) as well as give you some quality time together. In the end, isn’t that what it’s all about?
Headed for the greenway!
More than meets the eye
Quite often in life, we find that there is more to something than what originally meets the eye. In many cases, all that’s required is a little digging. Take, for example, the picture of the dog at the top of the page. All we can see is a small piece of the picture. Dig a little (and by dig, I mean scroll down to the bottom of this post), and we get the entire image.
The same can be said for the dog-friendliness of Charlotte as well. At first glance, one could easily get the impression that Charlotte has some strange obsession with felines. The local NFL team? Carolina Panthers. Basketball is more your speed? Well, we have the Bobcats. Need public transportation to attend one of those games? Use CATS, Charlotte’s mass transit service. If you’re lucky, you can ride LYNX, the light rail system. I have yet to come across anything in this town named for a canine, which just seems to be more than a little lopsided.
As it turns out, though, that doesn’t mean that Charlotte is lacking in it’s love for all things dog…it just takes a little digging. Some quick research on the ‘net reveals a plethora of options. We have free off-leash dog parks. We have dog bakeries that can host birthday parties for man’s best friend. We have plenty of boutiques that can dress your dog for ANY OCCASION. We have pet photographers and artists that can immortalize your dog forever. We even have a bar that is dedicated to dogs and the people that belong to them.
Check this space often for reviews of local dog spots, dog products and services as well as upcoming dog related events. And if there’s something that you would like to see covered, just let us know!
