Welcome to the Year of the Dog. To celebrate and honor this year, we will keep our paws to the ground and our nose in the air to uncover all the best places to whine and dine at the generosity of others. This is a column for all the canines out there and their guardians who love them.

And there are a lot of places going to the dogs in San Francisco. Starting with dive bars -- allowing dogs to hang out in bars is the new black. And merchants keeping dog treats behind the cash register is the new chocolate brown -- tres trendy. These trends are great news for those of us with cold wet noses as we love begging for food and free treats.

San Francisco’s overly dog friendly culture only makes sense. People in San Francisco are no longer having children. Children are expensive and will necessitate your move out of your rent controlled apartment at some point. Dogs have become your children and you want to take your children where you go -- to the office, the park, the store, the bar and the new restaurant that just opened up around the corner where that Noah’s Bagels used to be. You dress up your dogs in fancy collars and coats and carry them around in designer bags to shop for gourmet, organic dog food and treats that look like human confections. You send them to day care or hire private dog walkers to assuage your guilt that you are not spending enough quality time with them.

By contributing SFists Stan and Bailey

Please welcome contributing SFist Bailey (that's her on the left) and her guardian, Stan, and they sniff out (ha!) the dog-friendliest spots in the City.