San Francisco ? An abundance of pet-friendly hotels, off-leash dog parks and vegetarian restaurants helped San Francisco place first Monday on an animals rights group’s list of America’s most humane cities.

Seattle; Portland, Ore.; Washington, D.C.; and San Diego followed San Francisco in the Humane Society of the United States’ inaugural index, which the organization compiled using state-level and national data.

The group used such factors as the number of fur retailers per capita and the ratio of wildlife watchers to hunters in ranking the country’s largest 25 metropolitan areas by those most compassionate toward animals.

The Humane Society’s designation is intended to generate community support for animal shelters, rescue societies and welfare groups, said Carl Friedman, director of the city’s Department of Animal Care and Control.

“It’s a very, very nice pat on the head saying you’ve done great work,” he said.