Berkeley is an extremely dog-friendly place, and depending on where you live, you can easily be within walking distance of BART.

It can be tough to find a pet friendly apartment in San Francisco...but I did it (twice!) with a cat and dog.

Within the city, I had great luck in Noe Valley - it's very dog friendly and kid friendly. Plus, it's a cute little neighborhood I think. Walking distance to Bart and Muni runs right down the middle. Plus there are plenty of parks close by.

I had friends that had luck in Russian Hill with a large dog. And there are plenty of places in the Haight area that allow pets.

That said, anywhere you rent with a pet you will be paying more money, sometimes considerably more money.

Outside of the city, I think Berkeley is a good choice. Has a quirky feel and renting is cheaper and more spacious. Plus, there seem to be a lot of pet friendly parts.

Good luck!

Alamo Square and Duboce Triangle are generally dog friendly due to their proximity to dog parks and really nice neighborhoods, but very pricey.

In west Oakland near the BART station it is possible to get a big place for less money and big dogs are often welcome...especially the kind that bark and growl when prowlers cross the property line.

Berkeley has neighborhoods that would fit into both of the above categories.

There are several buildings near Lafayette Park and lower Nob Hill that allow dogs without charging much extra. If your friends are also considering the east bay, the marina bay complexes in Richmond are pet friendly, offer more space for the money, and sit right on the bay trail for walks to Point Isabel Dog Park and a local off leash beach... Good luck!

I found this site has some good info for dogs in the city.

http://sf.urbanhound.com/default.asp

Superb post, this will help us for sure. I love my puppy!

my advice is to not be deterred by listings on craigslist that say "no pets" or "cats only"... it's no longer the crazy landlord's market that it was just a few months ago, so many landlords might be willing to make an exception (mostly in smaller buildings, because in a big building, the landlord doesn't want to open the door for ALL tenants to have dogs). it never ever hurts to just call or e-mail and say "i know your ad says otherwise/doesn't specify, but would you consider a well-behaved XX lb dog?"

but more importantly, definitely do NOT rely on the craigslist search feature that allows you to find places that state they permit dogs--hardly any posters use this field, but many will still allow dogs.

it's also a good idea to have a previous landlord willing to act as a reference that your dog didn't bark all the time or destroy your abode.

"Affordable" in San Francisco is already a near impossibility. Adding on your other requirements, I'm afraid something has to give. Pet-friendly apartments in San Francisco will not come cheap so I hope your friends are prepared to concede some of their hopes. Living in the Bay Area comes with a high price tag so one should adjust expectations accordingly. Or at least prioritize.

Having said that, I have friends in Russian Hill with pet-friendly apartments. Duboce is also a dog friendly area. Another possibility is Bernal...close enough to some public transportation and close to a wonderful dog park.

I have a boxer too, and if yours is anything of the "typical" boxer, at 3 he's likely high-energy (mine is now 6 and still puppy-like!), and either people love that or don't (ie: landlords). With landlords that are on the fence types about dogs, I used to describe her as "bigger than a beagle, smaller than a golden retriever". That always put warm fuzzies in the mind of prospective landlords.
In fact, the last 5 aparments i've lived in were advertised as no-pets, but talking to prospective landlords and having the chance to communicate that you are a responsible dog-owner can do wonders. I don't know about SF, but this was my experience in NYC, where you don't imagine any landlord comprimising on something like that.

Anyway, just my 2 cents. Good luck!

I say unequivocally, Bernal Heights. This comes from an 80lb dog owner that lived in the Mission and took her dog every single day to Bernal Hill -- a huge (acres and acres) off-leash dog park. There are also more pet-friendly homeowners in that area.

I remember that the SF SPCA used to have some kind of list of pet friendly landlords/apartments. You might try to contact them to see if they can help.

My daughter had a fabulous apartment in Foster City that allowed pets. She had a cat, but there were many dogs there as I would meet them in the hallway when I was visiting. The rent was very reasonable too (this is the Bay Area we are speaking of) at $1700 for a month bedroom. The apartment building was right on the bay with a view of the San Mateo Bridge and out across to Fremont. The trails along the bay are great for walking a dog. Foster City is about 25 minutes south from SF. It's a planned city and one of my favorite spots in the Bay Area.

You should try looking in Oakland. Sometimes it gets a bad wrap, but Rockridge, Claremont, Grand Lake, are all comparably affordable and really nice neighborhoods.

Carillon Tower on Gough & Ellis takes pets.

BERKELEY is super dog friendly and so much cheaper than SF. I live in West Berkeley, near 4th st shops and I have 3 dogs; two small ones(under 5lbs) and one big active dog(a pointer)

Its really not a big deal commuting to SF from Berk-town. BART is fantastic and I really think living in SF is a bit overrated.

PLUS the parks where dogs are allowed in Berkeley are amazing, we LOVE the Aquatic Park. Make sure they check it out with their pooch!

All the apartments sfrent.net has accept pets. But I think you have to pay a bit extra.

There seem to be dogs and parks all over the city, so probably any neighborhood they can find an apartment in would work.

The communities on the Peninsula, south of San Francisco, are overall pretty pet friendly - with a good number of dogparks - and the San Mateo County humane society (called Peninsula Humane Society) maintains a listing of pet-friendly rentals:

http://www.peninsulahumanesociety.org/resource/listings.html

Unfortunately, for comparison, I phoned the San Francisco SPCA and they don't maintain a similar listing. I agree that Bernal Heights is a great neighborhood for dog owners and well worth looking into.

You might also try one of the services like apartmenthunterz.com (though I don't know of anyone personally who's tried that route so can't relay if it's useful or not).

If finances permit, try renting a house, you'll have much better luck with landlords who rent homes than with apartments. Lots of small houses (1 & 2br) on the Peninsula in communities like South San Francisco, San Bruno, Millbrae, the East side of San Mateo, Belmont.

A friend who moved into the area boarded her dog with a friend while she looked for the perfect rental (it took her two months but it worked!).

Cute dog!

Well... one thing that is nice about "unreliable" MUNI in San Francisco is that it is one of three major urban transit operators in the USA which allow full-size pet dogs on board.

I can't find the specific info on the website right now... but my understanding is that a passenger can bring one dog during non-commute hours, and that it must wear a muzzle. Full adult fare is required.

Unfortunately, none of the other transit operators in the Bay Area allows pet dogs.

If you are interested in changing this situation and learning more about taking dogs on transit, click HERE

Dog Patch! Right at the base of Potrero Hill, along the bay, convenient to the nightowl T Muni line, the 22 and 48 busses, SOMA, the design center of SF, and all that the new UCSF campus offers, the DP is an up and coming neighborhood and is completely animal friendly. Beautiful Esprit Park is technically for humans but is almost always overtaken by happy dogs frolicking with their owners. I live there and there are tons of dogs in the neighborhood and plenty of older, classic SF buildings with backyards, as well as lofts that offer the extra space that perhaps your friends are used to but which is hard to come by in the city. Also, since the neighborhood hasn't completely blown up yet (though it's on its way) you can still get a big apartment for the same price as a tiny one in, say, the Duboce Triangle. Not as cheap as the Richmond or Inner Sunset perhaps, but way cooler and closer to downtown, which is a plus if your friends will be working there and ever want to come home on their lunch breaks to let the dog out, etc.

A young boxer is not an apartment dog! Please take the time to find a place where your pet can get outside and move during the day. I lived in SF for many years, and I know there are ground-floor rentals with some yard space included. And the SPCA does do a list of pet-fiendly landlords. You are more likely to find something approprate for your high-energy pet outside of city limits, though. you might consider Daly City, where you will be near Fort Funston -- otherwise known as dog heaven. Also, Bernal Heights is something to consider in SF. You might be able to find a rental flat in a house with a yard. There is a big dog park on the top of the hill.

But please consider the needs of your dog.

One problem you will face is that your heavy-set boxer looks a bit pit-like. Landlords might assume you have a pit-bull mix, and turn you down for that. All bully breeds are suspect these days.

If you can find a Loft in SOMA close to the waterfront there is a park near ATT on the Embarcadero, a great park on Mission Bay Creek (near the houseboats) and South Park is also a good place to bring your dog.

If you have a car Fort Funston is great for dogs.

Almost all of the Loft buildings in SOMA are pet-friendly and you are usually walking distance to BART, Muni on the Embarcadero and the Caltrain at 4th & King.

The rents used to be high, but have been dropping significantly as units stay un-rented for months. I have friends who've recently negotiated much lower rent than what was advertised.

Best of luck!

Archstone apartment complexes are extremely dog friendly. I lived in Archstones in both San Mateo and Fremont with my animals. Everyone had dogs. The Archstone in San Mateo is within walking distance to the train. It has Saratoga Park attached, which is a wide swathe of grass. Archstone residents gather every day at around 5-6 PM to let their dogs play. There are a number of large dogs in the group. The apartments themselves are beautiful; great amenities; low deposits.

There are currently two 1-bedroom apartments available in my building (which I love). It's 1/2 block from Alamo Square, right on two major bus lines which each offer a short ride to BART (21 Hayes & 22 Fillmore).

I believe the rent is $2300, which ain't cheap, but I do love the building — 1920's architecture, garden courtyard, so close to an iconic San Francisco park...

Google Street View

Good luck!

Judging from how many dogs are in my neighborhood--North of Panhandle--it's a really dog-friendly area. It's not super close to BART, but you've got the 31, the 5, and the 21 running directly downtown. It's right next to the panhandle so there's your park right there. Plus it's just a really cool neighborhood. I don't have a dog myself so I don't know how difficult it is to find an apartment that allows dogs, but it's got to be possible because I can't walk 2 blocks without running into at least one person walking their dog, any time of day.

I'd definitely look into the place doublejack recommends. It's just a few blocks from where I live, and Alamo Square Park is another great place to take your dog. Also seconding the Noe Valley recommendation. Places around Dolores Square park are good too. Both those areas are reasonably close to BART, which is the one real qualm I have with my neighborhood.

And yes, it's a renter's market right now, so it's a great time to be looking. We were going to move but changed our mind and ended up being able to negotiate our rent down $100/month! Plus, all the places we looked at in SF, there were barely any other people at the showings. Landlords seemed desperate and very willing to negotiate. It was a different story in the East Bay though. I think people now are pretty much only moving to save money right now, so they're heading east -- meaning the cheaper places over there are much more in demand. Oakland (Rockridge, Lake Merritt, Claremont) and Berkeley are great.

Good luck!

We have a 3 bedroom/1 bath townhouse on Potrero Hill that's available March 8. It's right by a large, dog-friendly open space & the townhouse has a backyard w/ deck. We used to live there w/ our 2 dogs (both over 50 lbs), and we'd welcome tenants w/ 1-2 dogs. Rent is $3250/mo. If they (or anyone else) is interested, feel free to email me at kellinak@yahoo.com

The unit includes parking; energy efficient w/d; bamboo hardwood floors; access to shared, gated park; renovated kitchen & bathroom.

Hi I have three small dogs. each under 20 lbs. Where in san Francisco can I find a decent apartment to rent that will allow 3 small dogs??? Please help me.