STORIES ADOPT A DOG
Maya heads into the surf at Sunny Cove Beach.
Photo by Dave Kendrick.

Month: <span>June 2022</span>

A vibrant dog park bathed in sunlight features abundant greenery with mature trees, offering ample shade for leisurely outdoor activities. In the distance is a well-equipped playground that presents an additional activity area. An inviting picnic table spreads out nearby, ideal for enjoying meals al fresco or taking relaxing breaks from play. A neatly-placed trash bin aids in maintaining the park's cleanliness for everyone's enjoyment. Dominating the scene is a generously wide dirt path gracefully curving through the expanse of grass, promising exploratory walks and lively fetch games.

Safety first

Canoeing or kayaking with your dog can be among the most joyous of shared pastimes. But few dogs, even those who love water, will feel secure at first on the unstable deck of a kayak or the floor of a tippy canoe. Instinct can prompt even the best behaved Buddy to jump out and swim toward land‚ a serious problem if you’re on a river and have current to contend with. Dogs vary in temperament and personality as much as humans, and each individual will respond differently to this new adventure. Some guidelines . . .
A vibrant dog park bathed in sunlight features abundant greenery with mature trees, offering ample shade for leisurely outdoor activities. In the distance is a well-equipped playground that presents an additional activity area. An inviting picnic table spreads out nearby, ideal for enjoying meals al fresco or taking relaxing breaks from play. A neatly-placed trash bin aids in maintaining the park's cleanliness for everyone's enjoyment. Dominating the scene is a generously wide dirt path gracefully curving through the expanse of grass, promising exploratory walks and lively fetch games.

Humboldt county off-leash beaches

A wealth of beaches where canines are allowed to run free within the wave slope make the Humboldt shore one of the most dog-friendly coastal areas in California. A favorite with locals is Clam Beach in McKinleyville, the perfect end point for a hike along the five-mile Hammond Coastal Trail, voted in a recent newspaper poll as best place to hike in Humboldt County. North of Arcata, Highway 101 hugs the continent’s edge all the way to Trinidad, where dog-friendly Moonstone Beach offers gorgeous vistas of rugged headlands and rocky coves.
A vibrant dog park bathed in sunlight features abundant greenery with mature trees, offering ample shade for leisurely outdoor activities. In the distance is a well-equipped playground that presents an additional activity area. An inviting picnic table spreads out nearby, ideal for enjoying meals al fresco or taking relaxing breaks from play. A neatly-placed trash bin aids in maintaining the park's cleanliness for everyone's enjoyment. Dominating the scene is a generously wide dirt path gracefully curving through the expanse of grass, promising exploratory walks and lively fetch games.

Pet-friendly Mendocino county

If there's one destination in Northern California that really rolls out the red carpet for your pooch, it's pet-friendly Mendocino County. You'll find dozens of hotels, motels, inns, B&B's and cottages that will welcome you and your pup with open arms, treats and amenities. For more on accommodations, check out the Visit Mendocino pet friendly lodging page. In addition to great places to stay, many winery tasting rooms welcome canine companions with water, treats and a place to curl up by the bar.
A vibrant dog park bathed in sunlight features abundant greenery with mature trees, offering ample shade for leisurely outdoor activities. In the distance is a well-equipped playground that presents an additional activity area. An inviting picnic table spreads out nearby, ideal for enjoying meals al fresco or taking relaxing breaks from play. A neatly-placed trash bin aids in maintaining the park's cleanliness for everyone's enjoyment. Dominating the scene is a generously wide dirt path gracefully curving through the expanse of grass, promising exploratory walks and lively fetch games.

Coasting right along

Point Pinos Lighthouse Your dog can’t come inside to watch otters cavorting and jellyfish pulsing in their tanks at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. But that’s OK, because Monterey and the neighboring communities of Pacific Grove and Seaside offer a diverse array of pet-friendly lodging and plenty of things to do with Rover. You’ll need good walking shoes (and a light jacket or windbreaker, even in summer) to wander along the spectacularly scenic Monterey Bay Coastal Trail, which hugs the shore from busy Fisherman’s Wharf  in Monterey to romantic Lover’s Point  in Pacific Grove. Watch for whales in winter and otters and sea lions year-round along this wildlife- and wildflower-rich stretch of shoreline. The trail continues on the west side of the peninsula, where you and yours can inspect the historic Point Pinos Lighthouse  and poke around tidepools on the way to gorgeous Asilomar State Beach.
A vibrant dog park bathed in sunlight features abundant greenery with mature trees, offering ample shade for leisurely outdoor activities. In the distance is a well-equipped playground that presents an additional activity area. An inviting picnic table spreads out nearby, ideal for enjoying meals al fresco or taking relaxing breaks from play. A neatly-placed trash bin aids in maintaining the park's cleanliness for everyone's enjoyment. Dominating the scene is a generously wide dirt path gracefully curving through the expanse of grass, promising exploratory walks and lively fetch games.

Pooches in paraiso

They used to call it Steinbeck Wine Country, and the views celebrated in "East of Eden" are just as bucolic as in the famous author's time. Nowadays, 12 wineries hugging the hills above Steinbeck's old haunts in the Salinas Valley market themselves as the River Road Wine Trail, and word about their great wines and unpretentious tasting rooms is getting out. Travelers who explore these hidden gems along the River Road/Foothill Road corridor in Monterey County will find their four-legged companions welcome just abut everywhere, so don't even hesitate about bringing Spot.
A vibrant dog park bathed in sunlight features abundant greenery with mature trees, offering ample shade for leisurely outdoor activities. In the distance is a well-equipped playground that presents an additional activity area. An inviting picnic table spreads out nearby, ideal for enjoying meals al fresco or taking relaxing breaks from play. A neatly-placed trash bin aids in maintaining the park's cleanliness for everyone's enjoyment. Dominating the scene is a generously wide dirt path gracefully curving through the expanse of grass, promising exploratory walks and lively fetch games.

Badrap

Bay Area Doglovers Responsible About Pitbulls (BADRAP) has been working for over a decade to help the bully breeds when they landed, as they all too often did, in shelters, but the rescue came to national prominence for its role in saving the canine victims of Michael Vick's horrific abuse, as documented in Jim Gorant's bestselling book The Lost Dogs. In addition to rescuing hundreds of dogs, BADRAP is a strong force for owner responsibility, offering free and low-cost Pit Ed classes weekly in Berkeley. It also offers quarterly fairs in low-income areas, at which collars and leashes, vaccines, spay/neuter vouchers, training and behavior counseling, and microchips are available free of charge to pit bull owners in the community.
A vibrant dog park bathed in sunlight features abundant greenery with mature trees, offering ample shade for leisurely outdoor activities. In the distance is a well-equipped playground that presents an additional activity area. An inviting picnic table spreads out nearby, ideal for enjoying meals al fresco or taking relaxing breaks from play. A neatly-placed trash bin aids in maintaining the park's cleanliness for everyone's enjoyment. Dominating the scene is a generously wide dirt path gracefully curving through the expanse of grass, promising exploratory walks and lively fetch games.

East Bay treats

If you live in the Bay Area, you don't have to go far to access some of the 1,150 miles of trails at your doorstep in the 65 parks comprising the nation's largest regional parks system. Only a small percentage of the East Bay Regional Park District's 100,000 acres is off-limits to dogs, so when it comes to places to roam with Rover, this patchwork of open space in Alameda and Contra Costa counties is your bag of treats. First time out? Give yourselves a bone by heading to Tilden Regional Park in the Berkeley Hills, where you can soak up the views along an easy, partially paved, three–mile stretch of the East Bay Skyline National Trail; or take your pooch on an enjoyable twelve minute steam train ride through woodland chaparral and views of San Pablo Bay.

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