We have a dog, named Zanzibar (Zanzi). He is our child. As new parents to this canine child, we love to take him EVERYWHERE we go (for full disclosure, he is featured heavily in this article).
SIDEWALKS:
Coronado is extremely friendly to dogs on the sidewalk. Orange Avenue is filled with dog-lovers and dog-indifferentists, who still share the sidewalk with these canine companions. Dog bowls riddle each dining or commercial establishment, inviting those with dogs to take a seat outside OR inside!
Coronado has dog-friendly sidewalks.
Places Dogs are allowed Into Along Orange Ave:
(1) ACE Hardware
(2) Wag n Tails (of course)
(3) Holland’s Bicycles
(4) Coronado Crown Vet (of course)
(5) Dan McGeorge Photo gallery (approval from Fran pending)
(6) St. Paul’s Methodist Church (can bring your dog into services)
(7) List of restaurants that are dog-friendly
(8)
Basically in MOST places that don’t have food being served, clothes being sold, or hair is being cut. Any other surprising places you can think of in Coronado where dogs are In’vited?
DOG PARKS:
Since we moved to Coronado, we’ve been frequenting one particular dog park: Vetter Park. Of course, we also take Zanzi to the Dog Beach but then we have to bathe the complex haired poodle at Wag n Tails, and that itself can be a serious project. By the way, I’ve just mentioned 2 of 3 dog parks’ in Coronado. The third is the Coronado Cays Dog Park situated next to the large open soccer fields.
Dogs can play leash-less at Dog Beach.
But WAIT! Outside of dog beach, there are NO parks where dogs are allowed to be leash-less.
The sign at Vetter Park, and ALL dog parks in Coronado (except for Dog Beach).
I interviewed Suzanne Popp, a long time Coronado resident, and parent of both human and canine offspring. “For 17 years I have been going to Vetter Park every morning, every evening, and sometimes at lunch with four different dogs,” she said.
“My children had the wonderful opportunity of talking to other dog owners at the park. For children not living close to their grandparents, this was ideal. They talked about dogs, travel, life experiences and school. Recently one of my dogs became anxious around another dog, we, the owners worked with our dogs to try to get them to get along…we shared the park.”
Do You Allow Your Dog(s) to be Off-Leash at Vetter?
“Why else would one take their dog to a park? It’s a happy place with dogs running and playing and being free. Most everyone picks up after their dog and many times dog owners will pick up an extra “pile” or tow because sometimes we are busy conversing with the other dog owners that we might miss the event.”
Dogs off-leash at Vetter Park. The black dogs in the video are Portuguese Water Dogs from a local Coronado breeder.
Suzanne Popp also talked about Vetter’s history:
“The park was originally deeded to the city by the Vetter family and there was never a mention of leashes. A few years back a sign that said no golfing was taken down and the dog must be leashed at all time was put up My son put up a petition at the park to allow us to legally have the dogs off leash. We had a lot of people sign it, but the city stopped coming by and so we dropped the matter. I still have the petitions.”
Your Turn To Comment:
Do YOU think Vetter should be deemed an OFF-LEASH park? Do YOU have other experiences to share that shed light on Coronado’s dog-friendliness?
Akshay facilitates workshops on leadership, communication, and teamwork for adults and children with Ziksana Consulting. Read his Behavior Blotter for more on his work and his observations. If you have any ideas for stories, please contact Akshay at [email protected]
