Dog Beaches...

I have no doubt that the toughest part of the move to California from Minnesota for Laird is the constant requirement that he be on a leash, and the lack of wide open space to just be a dog. So today, we went to a dog friendly ocean side city. 

Del Mar is a quaint, picturesque city on the coast with beautiful beaches, great restaurants, and upscale shops; but it's a town with a twist - it's VERY dog friendly!  More than just friendly, they actually cater to dogs. Dogs are allowed on the streets, on the beaches (couple exceptions, but not many), and at the sidewalk sitting areas for restaurants. 

We started the day at the Dog Beach at Del Mar. During the months of July and August, dogs have to be leashed and are restricted from some areas of the beach, but for the other 10 months of the year dogs are allowed on almost all the beaches and can be off the leash and under voice command. (Dog heaven!) Even on the leash, Laird was sold on Del Mar. He was happy to be included in the day, but he really perked up when we hit the beach and he saw other dogs every where.

Waiting for his burger to arrive.

He immediately headed toward the water, but wasn't too happy when his first big gulp of cool water was salty. As soon as another dog came frolicking up to him, though, he forgot about the salty water and tried to play. Several tiny dogs tried to take him on, and he had some in depth sniffing sessions with a few other German Shepherds. For the first time ever, we saw some Shepherds nearly as tall as Laird, but when measured shoulder to shoulder, he still reigned as king. 

The highlight of Laird's day was splitting a burger with Braden at Smash Burger, where dogs are welcome on the patio. And not only did Smash Burger have a full water dish next to their front door, but Banana Republic did, too! Every where in Del Mar it was apparent that the city truly welcomes dogs. They even have a bakery for dogs (luckily, Laird didn't realize what it was when we passed it).

Laird collapsed on his bed as soon as we got home and has hardly moved since. 

Another good day...