Proud to be 'top dog'

COEUR d'ALENE - Rondi Renaldo paused before opening the kennel door, letting the tour group gather around her.

"Our goal is to always have every paw touch grass, every day," said Renaldo, the KHS director.

As soon as Renaldo stepped into the back room, the dogs started singing. Tails wagging, tongues lolling, the canines barked and howled as the visitors passed by.

Renaldo led the group to a quieter spot. She explained how KHS staffers know every animal's tendencies and behaviors.

"Dogs are like people," she said. "Sometimes they like somebody, sometimes they don't."

Ernie Slone, editor of Dog Fancy magazine, and his wife, Vicki, joined the KHS tour on Tuesday afternoon. Dog Fancy recently named Coeur d'Alene DogTown USA, the most dog-friendly city in the country, and the Slones were visiting North Idaho for the first time.

"My first thought coming in (was) it's just spectacularly beautiful," Slone said.

The couple had a busy day. Before stopping at KHS, they visited Central Bark - the off-leash dog park on Atlas Road - explored Coeur d'Alene and checked out some dog-friendly businesses around town.

Slone was impressed with Central Bark - he liked the asphalt paths, the recycled benches, and the general accessibility of the place. The community spirit was another plus.

"There's so many thoughtful things about the dog park," he said.

Katie Kosanke of the Coeur d'Alene Parks Department guided the Sloans' tour, and Terry Wright, a member of the Kootenai County Dog Park Association Committee, joined the couple at Central Bark.

The association hopes to build more parks in the Coeur d'Alene area, Wright said, giving dog owners plenty of options.

"Right now, we're in the process of finding sites, within existing parks, to build 'pocket parks' throughout the community," Wright said. "They're not expensive to build. And they're gonna be used."

At the Coeur d'Alene City Council meeting Tuesday night, Slone presented a $5,000 check to the dog park association. He also gave Mayor Sandi Bloem a DogTown USA plaque, commemorating the award.

Dog Fancy's October issue will feature Coeur d'Alene; the magazine will be available on newsstands Aug. 23.

"The thing about dogs that's really incredible to me is how they connect people," Sloan said. "It just makes the community more engaged with the people."

Coeur d'Alene beat out five other cities for the DogTown honors.

Features like Tubbs Hill and the Centennial Trail, where residents can walk their dogs and exercise, helped score major points.

"You've got all these places where people can enjoy themselves," Sloan said. "We wanted to make sure we acknowledged that, oh, this is a place that's really starting to get it."