cats — Photo via Beth Cunningham for Bham Now

Here is something to bark or purr about Birmingham! According to an in-depth report released today by WalletHub, Birmingham is the 5th “Most Pet-Friendly City in America.”

The 2021 WalletHub report compared the animal lover friendliness of the 100 largest cities across 23 key metrics. The data set ranges from minimum pet-care provider rate per visit to pet businesses per capita to walkability.

Here is how Birmingham ranked with on a number of key indicators:

Pet-Friendliness of Birmingham (1=Most Pet-Friendly; 50=Avg.):

5^th– Veterinary Care Costs
21^st– Dog Insurance Premium
10^th– Veterinarians per Capita
10^th– Pet Businesses per Capita
19^th– Dog-Friendly Restaurants per Capita
33^rd– Animal Shelters per Capita
48^th– Pet Caretakers per Capita

Expect Birmingham to Move Up

Birmingham Alabama — Do Dah Day Parade 2017

The cities ahead of the Magic City in the national ranking are Scottsdale, AZ, Tampa, FL, Orlando, FL and Las Vegas, NV.

Don’t be surprised to see our community surpass these in the 2022 ranking. Why?

Here are three game-changing pet-friendly initiatives our community has implemented and launched in 2020-21.

As reported in Bham Now:

Birmingham approves ordinance to prevent inhumane tethering of animals – In July 2020, the Birmingham City Council passed a law making it illegal to tether a dog for more than 8 hours. Praised by local animal protection groups, the new law was one of the first of its kind in Alabama.
New Alabama laws: Dogs in outdoor dining areas – In May 2021, Governor Kay Ivey signed into law allowing pets, especially dogs to join their “people” on patios across the state.
Greater Birmingham Humane Society plans to build new state of the art campus Here’s why. This summer, GBHS announced plans to expand their operations near Lakeshore Parkway. The new facility was made possible by a partnership with the Jefferson County Commission.