Is New York Among Best States to Adopt a Dog?

Because it’s stray season around the country – that time when people find abandoned dogs out and about – we decided to look into the best states to adopt a dog.

EmpireStakes.com took a break from covering New York sports betting and used data from RescueMe.org to find the number of dog rescue groups and adoption agencies in every state. Then, we ranked each state by how many rescue organizations they had per square mile.

State with Most Dog Rescues per Square Mile

Here is a cultural story with statistics you won’t find on any New York betting apps.

How New York Fared in Rankings

New York came in 16^th, in part because of the population density of New York City.

That’s not to say that city folk don’t like their dogs, they do. But across the entire state, 27% of residents own dogs, and in the five boroughs that number drops almost in half. But with one in seven houses and apartments having licensed dogs as residents, that’s still about 425,000 dogs. Being New York, you can be sure there are also a lot of unlicensed dogs.

And there are dogs throughout the city and state’s shelters waiting for a forever home. One NYC shelter claims to take in 100 dogs a day. While the state has no breed restrictions, if you live in a building owned by the New York City Housing Association, no Doberman pinschers, pit bulls or Rottweilers for you. And no pup over 25 pounds. All shelter dogs in New York are spayed/neutered and vaccinated. A quick visit to the vet for a fuller check-up is recommended.

Adopting a dog in New York can cost between $75 and $250. And if you want to wait until fall, October is Adopt a Shelter Dog Month.

Like most states, New York’s favorite breed is the Labrador, followed by German shepherds and Golden retrievers. In New York City, the French poodle is popular.