It’s National Dog Day! Did you know National Dog Day has been celebrated every year on August 26th since 2004? We jokingly said earlier today that every day is National Dog Day in our house. Our dog Zoe is just a tad spoiled.
When she’s not sunbathing in the pool, she’s usually helping herself to something she’s not supposed to be eating, like our daughter’s First Holy Communion cake, or a tray of brownies, or a loaf of bread. Our Labrador is governed by her need to eat all the time. Despite eating everything in sight, she’s a pretty awesome dog. She greets strangers at the door with a toy (or a shoe) and a wag of the tail. She’s known around the neighborhood for fetching the paper every morning, rain or shine. Cars have actually stopped on the street to watch her; it’s her daily job and she lives for it.
There’s only one thing she loves more than the pool.
And that’s the beach.
So we got talking about National Dog Day and how we would celebrate. It’s a great day to treat your dog to a special outing or maybe just plan to check out some cool dog friendly places with the family. Here are a few beaches, dog parks, restaurants, etc, we’ve come across in our travels:
Cape May Dog Park, located on Lafayette Street near the corner of Broad, has a gazebo, toys, and a water source for when the dogs get thirsty during play. You can even bring your dog along to several restaurants in Cape May including Aleathea's at the Inn of Cape May, The Ugly Mug, Rusty Nail, Gecko's, Tisha's, Zoe's, and the Blue Pig at Congress Hall.
Lower Township beaches along the Delaware Bay are dog-friendly all year.
Wildwood recently passed a new ordinance that designates an area of the Wildwoods’ beach at Poplar Avenue as dog-friendly.
The Wildwood Aviation Museum and Historic Cold Spring Village are dog friendly.
Dogs on a 6-foot leash are permitted on the north end of the Stone Harbor beach between 80th and 82nd streets before 9 a.m. and after 7 p.m.
Dogs are permitted on the beach in Ocean City and Sea Isle City from October 31 through April 30; they must be on a 6-foot leash.
Ocean City Dog Park, located at 45th Street & Haven Avenue is a fenced in dog park with separate small dog area. (Membership is required.)
Longport Dog Beach is located at the base of the Ocean Drive Bridge on the Longport side across from the fishing pier. This off-leash beach is our favorite and it’s open year round. No permit or tags required.
If you live offshore, the Linwood Bike Path or the Egg Harbor Township Nature Reserve are both great places to go for a stroll also.
Share your favorite dog-friendly places with us and have a Happy National Dog Day!
