Puppies for Sale in Massachusetts, MA

Massachusetts has some major strengths when it comes to our four-legged friends.

A Pawsafe study ranks Massachusetts as the 10th most dog-friendly state. A similar study by Safewise found Massachusetts to be the 17th most pet-friendly state. They base their rankings on various key factors like pet care costs, walkability, the number of pet-friendly rentals, and animal welfare laws.

Pawsafe also ranked Massachusetts 11th for pet-friendly activities and sixth for available pet services. Massachusetts has more than 350 pet-friendly accommodations and 140 restaurants. Over 300 attractions in the state accept pets.

Massachusetts is also the fifth-highest in animal rights laws, which we love to see. The majority of these laws relate to abuse, neglect, fighting, and pet care standard. Veterinarians must report animal abuse and animal abusers may face felony charges. Also, Massachusetts has good samaritan laws that protect citizens who want to help dogs they see stuck in cars. 

How dog-friendly is Boston?

WalletHub analyzed and ranked the most pet-friendly cities in the United States for 2021. They look at a variety of important factors like pet budget, health and wellness, and outdoor pet-friendliness.

They ranked Boston the 67th most pet-friendly city out of 100 cities. Not the best, but certainly not the worst. The city is the 35th best for outdoor pet-friendliness. It is also ranked 40th for pet health and wellness. It doesn’t score as well for pet budget, indicating that Boston is expensive for dog owners.

A Trust for Public Land (TPL) study shows that Boston has the 24th highest number of dog parks per capita, with 1.8 dog parks per 100,000 residents.

Any areas for improvement in Massachusetts’ pet care?

The state has some areas where it can improve. 

Only 29% of Massachusetts residents own a dog. This is a solid amount below the 40% average among all U.S. households. Overall, Massachusetts has one of the lowest pet ownership rates in the country at 49.1%.

Animal welfare & dog shelters in Massachusetts

Of the 35,149 dogs and cats that entered Massachusetts shelters in 2019, they saved and positively placed 80.86%. A 90% save rate is required to be a no-kill state. Sadly, only 11.27% of Massachusetts shelters are no-kill.

Boston has the fourth-fewest veterinarians per capita among the nation’s top cities. Also, it should absolutely increase its number of no-kill animal shelters and adoption opportunities.

We hope to see some of these improvements in the future, making Massachusetts an even better home for our beloved pets.