Is Atlanta Dog-Friendly?? (Marietta, Decatur: suburban, moving to, traffic)

[peanut33]

I am considering moving to Atlanta and was wondering if this is a good place to have a dog? (I would probably live close to Decatur as I will be going to Emory) I want somewhere where people FOLLOW THE LAW AND KEEP THIER DOGS ON LEASHES!!! Does this seem to be the trend or do people let them run free?? Any advice welcome

[TakeAhike]

There are many animal rescue volunteer groups in Atlanta, particularly in the Decatur/Emory area and several dog parks. Google DeKalb County Parks and Recreation.

The majority of the owners seem to be responsible. I think a lot of Emory students/staff frequent Mason Mill Dog Park.

The traffic is so bad that it would not make sense to allow dogs to run free. jmo.
bhs

[goozer]

I live on the north side of the City of Decatur. In the neighborhood I live in, it seems that virtually EVERYONE has two dogs (I have two myself). It is almost comical. In terms of people walking their dogs around the neighborhood...people all seem to use leashes. Also, there is also a great boarding/grooming facility near the Dekalb Farmer's Market. All in all, I would say that Decatur is VERY dog friendly.

[atlantagreg30127]

There are certain small sections where you'll see people with dogs eating in outdoor cafe type areas, such as Decatur, Marietta Square, Virginia Highlands, etc. Overall though, while tons of people have pets here, Atlanta is not ranked as a "dog friendly" city. Mostly due to a lack of a lot of official dog parks and nice trail areas where you can walk them.

There was some stuff floating around online where I think Denver was ranked as being the most dog friendly larger city in the U.S. due to a huge number of parks, trails, and restaurant-dog-friendly establishments.

People in the city do tend to keep their dogs on leashes more than in the burbs, with the exception of when in the parks I've seen people take their dogs off-leash (even in non-dog run areas). Atlanta traffic even on side streets is usually so heavy though that not having a dog on a leash is almost a death wish. The burbs are a different story. I'm in West Cobb and in my area it's VERY common to see people allow their dogs to roam the neighborhood when they want. Out here and in Paudling County it's a real problem, as it is generally in many of the more rural suburban areas.