There are a lot of neighborhoods on livebaltimore that don't have profiles--most of the nice places do, and places you want to avoid, don't. Check out the list of neighborhoods for East Baltimore (if you search by map) and you won't see a lot of clickable names. That's how they seem positive about all the neighborhoods, they emphasise the good ones. Also, the truth is, there are a lot of nice areas of Baltimore. You don't see them on TV because all the shows in Baltimore are cops shows, but they are out there.
If you want something more--
A searchable map of actual reported crimes for addresses and neighborhoods
I live on the East Side, in Greektown. It's close to Patterson Park, where Zuni and I walk sometimes. It's completely a dog's park (but not a fenced-in dog park, mind you). I'm disappointed if we don't see another grey when walking there. I do go out of the city to go to the vet--Dr. Rodney in Fallson--on the border between Baltimore and Harford Counties. I got the recommendation off the list here, and I think it's worth it to travel a little farther for a vet I like and can trust. Dr. Rodney is one of the the GPA vets mentioned above (I believe) and does adoption out her office. I've gone a couple of times and people have been meeting hounds in the lobby.
I'm also with Greyhound Welfare--I adopted Zuni from them and I just started fostering too. They started in the DC suburbs, but there is good representation in Baltimore and we have a M+G up here almost every weekend.