Chicago voted one of the worst cities for pet lovers

CHICAGO (FOX 32 News) - Chicago has been voted one of the worst cities for pet lovers this year by financial website WalletHub.

FOX 32 took the survey to a real estate expert who specializes in finding homes for dog owners, and he shared with us the best and worst neighborhoods in Chicago for pet lovers.

"The analogy is the real estate value goes up with the quality of the schools, some of the value of the property goes up with the closeness to the proximity to dog parks," said Roger Lautt of Chicago Dog Pads.

Roger Lautt is the master of finding cool doggie pads. He’s sold real estate in the city for more than 30 years.

No bones about it, Lautt said there are four Chicago neighborhoods that put pets first.

NUMBER ONE: ANDERSONVILLE.

"Lots of dogs, lots of people with dogs that love dogs so the businesses sort of cater to that," Lautt said.

Just steps away from the lakefront, Andersonville is near Montrose Dog Beach and Puptown, one of the city's 23 dog parks.

"She loves it, she actually dragged me here today," said Andersonville dog owner Jeffrey Clay.

NUMBER 2: LINCOLN PARK.

"The Wiggly Dog park was the first one in the city, I think that was established in 1997," Lautt said.

"It's a great place to live," said Lincoln Park dog owner Mark Rosso.

NUMBER 3: LOGAN SQUARE

"This area of the city, at least a 10, maybe an 11," said dog owner John McCourt.

"There's a lot of other dogs, a lot of dog parks, and there's even a couple bars and restaurants that allow dogs," said dog owner Jon Linton.

"The properties are a little more spread out, so there's a little more room, we just have a new dog park now," Lautt added.

The fourth and final best neighborhood for dog lovers is the South Loop. It’s home to one of the most impressive dog parks in the city.

"This area per capita has the most dogs in the whole city," said South Loop residents David Perez and Sunny Wolf.

The apartment building that wins 10 paws for canine excellence is K-2 in River West.

"It's really luxury living for dogs actually," said Luxury Highrise dog owner Kevin Sy.

"They are catering to dog people and advertising how they have a veterinarian on staff, they do grooming right there, they have the biggest dog run in the city,” Lautt added.

"Streeterville is the worst, one of the reason's it’s the worst, there's just absolutely no green space, it's a concrete jungle," Lautt said.

There are 40-thousand registered dogs in the city, but FOX 32’s doggie real estate expert estimates there are more like 400,000.