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It sure isn't very friendly where I live in Kentucky. I've been kicked out of free local concerts that were outdoors, which I wasn't happy about. The one I do go to that is dog friendly, you have to sit far away in a designated area with your dog. Even our shopping centers don't allow them. When I go to Florida oh my gosh, they allow dogs e-v-e-r-y-w-h-e-r-e~! One bar/restaurant even has a menu for dogs~! Most stores have a water dish outside.
I don't really know any public place where dogs are allowed, other than service dogs. They're never allowed in malls, restaurants, bars, or even some farmers markets. The concern is always about noise, dog mess, and liability in case a dog bites. Sure you might be a responsible dog owner, but many are just clueless and stupid.
To be honest, I don't want to take my dog most places. We're together so much that I think we both need a break from each other sometimes. A dog on a leash is just one more thing I have to keep track of.
The city I live in is anal-retentive when it comes to dogs. And the area where I live (a subsection of the city) is even worse. There is no dog park within walking distance of my house (nearest one is over half an hour away), and I've been kicked out of just about every green space I've taken my dog to in the past. Five minutes from my house is a huge field in behind a school, no one has used it for years....and for a while I was able to take my two dogs there to let them run and play before and after work every day. They loved it. Then a few other people began bringing their dogs, and it unofficially became a small dog park. However, someone - a non-dog owner - complained, and the city locked the entire thing down. There's also a small enclosed area about a block from my place...it used to be used for a daycare and held a slide and swings, but the daycare shut down, swings and playsets removed, and it has been vacant for the past 5 years or so. Because it is fenced in and has a gate, people began using it infrequently to let their dogs run off leash. That didn't last long though...police once again stepped in and ordered that no one set foot in the area. They'd rather let these places sit abandoned for decades than allow pet owners give their dogs some exercise. Even at our local park by the river, there are vast expanses of green space, and dogs are allowed there, but...not off leash. Ever. I once had a dog on leash at a local park on a hot summer day, and in that park was a small manmade lake. Misty was thirsty so I took her to the edge of the water to let her get a drink. I'm not kidding...the moment one of her paws touched the edge of the water I heard a person approach me from behind; I turned around and it was a police officer. He said, "You have to remove your dog and leave right now". When I asked him why he said that the law stated 'no dogs are allowed within 50 feet of the water'. My dog and I were kicked out of the area altogether simply because she was thirsty.
Oh, and the one dog park that is over half an hour from my house? It's really just a tiny field, set aside from the miles upon miles upon miles of park that runs along the local river. The dogs can run off-leash there, but they're not allowed to actually go near the edge of the water. So, you take your dog to the park in the summertime, let them off leash in the postage-stamp size of a dog park, and then have to keep them from going to the water if they get hot or thirsty? When I asked once why dogs weren't allowed near the river's edge I was told that the city is afraid the dogs will 'destroy the natural vegetation' in the area. Yet every spring, this is exactly where the city brings it's tractor trailers and heavy equipment that they haul into the river and use to break up the ice, utterly destroying everything in their wake. And all summer long you will find similar machines in similar designated spots along the river, bulldozing everything in sight. Well, I guess that's all okay, so long as a dozen or so dogs don't go running after sticks and leaving footprints in the mud. It's insane.
Our transit system also doesn't allow dogs on city buses, even though most other major cities do so during off-peak hours. A few years ago a large group of people petitioned to get the city to change the law so we could at least leap forward to the 20th century and join in with other cities, and be a bit more dog-friendly, allowing smaller dogs on buses in off-peak hours; but again, NO was the answer. In their final decision, city council and the transit commission stated reasons why they simply couldn't allow it. Want to know what one of them was? "There is a risk of a human contracting rabies if we allow dogs on our public transit". And as far as stores...there are a few pet stores in the city that still allow dogs (a couple of Petsmarts and Pet Valu or two) but that's it.
We're fast becoming a doggiephobic society, and I think my city is at the head of this particular pack.
I don't really know any public place where dogs are allowed, other than service dogs. They're never allowed in malls, restaurants, bars, or even some farmers markets. The concern is always about noise, dog mess, and liability in case a dog bites. Sure you might be a responsible dog owner, but many are just clueless and stupid.
To be honest, I don't want to take my dog most places. We're together so much that I think we both need a break from each other sometimes. A dog on a leash is just one more thing I have to keep track of.
But in certain parts of Florida, they are allowed in malls that I saw. The restaurant/bars have outdoor sitting area which they are allowed. There are numerous of stores that they are allowed in, and some do have a sign posted where they aren't allowed.
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The city I live in is anal-retentive when it comes to dogs...
That is awful to hear. I have a couple friends in Canada. One friend does have dogs and walks them daily on the lake side or whatever it is on the western part where Vancouver is. She never mentioned an issue about dogs to me where she's at. My other friend in the Ontario county has a cat.
Where the summer concerts are that are dog friendly use to have dogs there right in the middle of the concert years ago I recall, like the 1990's. Something happened, some dogs got into a fight or someone bit. I forgot. So they band them from there and we have to sit across the street. The music is loud enough to hear but when cars block that side of the street sometimes it is difficult to see. When my friend knows I'm there whose the coordinator for this yearly summer event, he includes in the announcement to "welcome the dog people"
The town where I live has just been voted the most dog friendly town in America. But, no, you won't be able to take your dog to the concerts or into any business that sells food.
All the anti-dog laws are brought to you by all the inconsiderate dog owners who can't understand that not everybody loves their dog. They refuse to control or train their dog, or even supervise it in public.
Unfortunately, there are a lot of people like that and all of us get to suffer because they are so irresponsible.
Concerts are really loud, so not a good place for an animal with such sensitive hearing. Completely aside from the fact that food is sold and not everybody loves your dog.
We have a few dog parks here, none within walking distance. There are lots of events that you can take your dog to though, and you can take them in any city park as long as they're on a leash. You can also take them to the riverwalk, and some of the restaurants there are dog-friendly (outside, of course).
I am not sure what I want to call Santa Barbara as the city itself is not that dog friendly in some ways.But we do have some nice off leash dog parks and the off leash beach and off leash wilderness area but those are all properties owned by Santa Barbara county and one is a privately owned park not city parks or beaches . Dogs can be in the city parks on leash and Down Town or on the wharf but not on city beaches. Quite a few stores downtown let people bring well behaved dogs in and I see water bowls outside some stores downtown. Some resturants are letting dogs on patios again as they did years ago after a number of years when they stopped doing so or faced a stiff city fine ( all that was during the days when group called Dog Pac was fighting to get off leash parks so the non dog people were all very against it and the city went after resturants that allowed dogs on the patio) .One of the funniest things to me was when we use to have the big dog parade and festivale which was all about dogs and only people that liked dogs attended. The festival was held at a city park along the beach were the parade ended and there were food trucks there but the city put a barrier around them and you could not take your dog past the barrier up to one of the trucks to order food so if you were alone it made it difficult to buy food or a drink..what did they think my dog was going to hop in one of the trucks and lick all the burgers or start cooking food?
There are several options for agility, flyball and rally obedience so we do have dog sports available and there is a large AKC show in town every year. We have nice pet stores and feed shops too. There are several large resuce groups and the county shelter tends to be no kill and one of the rescue groups cares for the shelter dogs. There are a lot of dog lovers that live here.
I have been to free concerts and taken the dogs and there tend to be a lot of dogs there. Dogs are bannned from the farmers markets probably because there is food involved. If you want to hold a dog event it is easier to get a county parks approval then a city parks because the people that run the county parks seem to see the need and like dogs the city parks people not so much though our agility club is allowed to hold classes in one of the city parks that is one of the few parks they allow obedience or other dog classes at.
In many ways the town seems dog friendly but I think it is the county that is responsible for so much of that but I know we sure do beat many places in how dog friendly the city is so I enjoy living here with my dogs,I can not really complain as my dogs do get to enjoy leash free beach and or wilderness runs, time at the dog park and enjoyng agility so we are happy.
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And as far as stores...there are a few pet stores in the city that still allow dogs (a couple of Petsmarts and Pet Valu or two) but that's it. 
) .One of the funniest things to me was when we use to have the big dog parade and festivale which was all about dogs and only people that liked dogs attended. The festival was held at a city park along the beach were the parade ended and there were food trucks there but the city put a barrier around them and you could not take your dog past the barrier up to one of the trucks to order food so if you were alone it made it difficult to buy food or a drink..what did they think my dog was going to hop in one of the trucks and lick all the burgers or start cooking food?
