PETS All dressed up for the Key West Dachshund Walk.
Paw Park of Historic Sanford, the oldest offleash dog site in Central Florida, features a separate play area for small breeds, self-watering bowls, plenty of live oak shade trees and even showers to cool down your critters on sweltering days. Tampa Bay boasts more than a dozen offleash parks, including Mango Dog Park, a shady, five-acre tract with swim areas and pavilions; Curtis Hixon Waterfront Dog Park and the freshly renovated Davis Islands Dog Park, both of which are feted for their water features; and a few Paw Playgrounds in Anderson, Boca Ciega and Fort De Soto, which are fully fenced and even offer showers. For more water recreation and exercise, as well as raised bathing tubs and an agility course, visit Jacksonville’s off-leash, fenced, multi-acre Dog Wood Park facility.
HOWL-WORTHY EVENTS Do you travel because of your pet? If not, perhaps you should start! Orlando, for instance, hosts more than eight annual events, such as Paws in the Park Pet Walk, which raises money for the SPCA of Central Florida, and the Global Pet Expo and the Orlando Pampered Pet Expo at the Orange County Convention Center. There’s also the Annual Doggie Art Festival in nearby Winter Park and the Posh Pooch Festival, a multi-tiered contest at neighboring Celebration’s Lakeside Park. Check out Bark at the Ball Park days—one at the George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa and another at the Bright House Field in Clearwater—where you can take in a game and pet vendors simultaneously. If you’re into breed-specific destinations, head to South Beach in Miami in January for the Dachshund Winterfest. Holidays such as Halloween are arguably the most interesting times to travel with animals, if only to participate in events such as the Pet Masquerade and Parade in Key West, which, even though the dogs are leashed, can be quite a howl.
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2015 TRAVEL GUIDE TO FLORIDA
CANINE HANGOUTS For a complete list of dog-friendly parks and beaches, visit DogFriendly.com, which offers information on 20 cities with coastal access. This handy list is especially helpful if you want to know if and where leashes are required. (While many parks and beaches invite animals to frolic, some require pets to be regulated on sixfoot leashes.) One must-stop on the Gulf of Mexico is Dog Island just south of Carrabelle, which is accessible only by ferry or boat and welcomes leashed, well-behaved, four-legged sidekicks everywhere, except in the nature conservatory. South of Cocoa Beach in Central East Florida, Canova Beach Dog Park is a popular leashed-dog hangout. Be sure to enter the beach through the south crossover to avoid any fines. A little farther north, pet-friendly Smyrna Dunes Park rises above a wide expanse of dunes with two miles of elevated boardwalk. Prefer off-leash beaches? Consider Lee County’s Barkingham Park in Fort Myers and Dog Beach in Bonita Beach; Scott Complex Dog Park in Pensacola, where facilities include human and hound water fountains and pooperscooper stations; Happy Tails Canine Park in Bradenton; and Higgs Beach Dog Park in Key West, where small and large animals have separate playgrounds.
If you need a spot for your pet to stay while in Southeast Florida, check it into Camp Canine, a “country club and spa” for dogs and cats. The Boca Raton, Fort Lauderdale and Hollywood locations are cage-free, and pets have the luxury of indulging in plenty of playtime. Grooming and shuttle services can also be arranged. Ditto The Lodge at New Tampa. Not only does this canine hotel provide special accommodation complete with exercise lanais attached to an air-conditioned suite, you can make arrangements for your pup to enjoy a swim, a private ball toss with a staff member, a HydroSurge massage bath and playtime in the park. Feline guests are welcome too. The Happy Paws Pet Resort in Orlando is virtually viral-free with hospital-grade air-conditioned units, and is double-insulated for noise reduction so your cat isn’t freaked out by barking dogs. There’s a bone-shaped saltwater pool for exercise and fun, and the staff offers “concierge” grooming services and training. With more than 80 pet-friendly business listings, Orlando is among the friendliest dog towns in Florida. The Loews Hotels group welcomes them with the “Loews Loves Pets” program, which includes personal notes from general managers on hotel pet services and local dog walking routes, gourmet pet food menus, and even catnip and videos for entertainment.
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: ANDY NEWMAN/FLORIDA KEYS NEWS BUREAU/HO; FLORIDASHISTORICCOAST.COM
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