How 'Dog Friendly' Is Your Town?

If your dog lives in Chicago, Vancouver or Boston, it's likely your pooch is living large.

That's according to the annual "Dog Friendly Cities" list compiled by the Web site Dogfriendly.com.

Chicago rose to the No. 1 spot on the list, up from No. 3 last year. Vancouver, British Columbia, ranked No. 2 and Boston made No. 3 on the list. San Francisco, Seattle, Salt Lake City, San Diego and Tucson, Ariz., as well as Toronto and San Antonio, Texas, rounded out the top 10 list.

The site said it based its rankings on "the quality and number of dog-friendly places that a traveler would use such lodging, attractions, outdoor restaurants, hikes, beaches and stores." This year the site gave "high rankings for cities that allow both small and large dogs on their public transportation such as buses, subways and street cars.

Chicago earned high praise for its "upscale hotels that welcome dogs and for sightseeing" and the White Sox's annual "Dog Day" baseball game each spring. Navy Pier also welcomes leashed dogs.

Boston was noted for its "public trains and subway cars that allow well-behaved, leashed dogs of all sizes to tag along, making Boston one of the easiest cities to get around for people vacationing with dogs."

It also liked Boston for its abundance of parks.

Vancouver was rated as dog friendly because it has a lot of outdoor restaurants and cafes, and San Francisco got high marks for having more off-leash areas than other cities.

The site also offers dog city and travel guides, dog-friendly restaurants and camps and dog events around the country.