Away from Home
Provincetown, on the tip of Cape Cod in Massachusetts, is a quaint summer colony with a decidedly bohemian flavor. Here you will find dogs everywhere, on the job with their owners in antique shops and art galleries, at sidewalk cafés like the Café Blasé on Commercial Street, people-watching with locals and vacationers, and proudly parading down the narrow streets. In Provincetown, a well-groomed dog in a trendy leash, collar, stylish bandanna, or colorful bow is a surefire status symbol.
In Boston's dog-friendly South End, dogs are welcome outdoors at restaurants like The Dish, The Red Fez, Gallia, the Salty Dog Seafood Grille, and the Wisteria House Chinese Restaurant, as well as in outdoor cafés along Newbury Street in the Back Bay, and at the Kinsale Irish Pub near Government Center.
Dogs are celebrated in Southern California. Trainer Janine Pierce, who works out of locations in Canoga Park and Granada Hills, has assembled a comprehensive e-guide to dog-friendly locations on her Web site, at www.j9sk9s.com. Her listings include four full pages of restaurants, cafes, and coffeehouses in the Los Angeles area plus eight more pages of every kind of retail establishment imaginable, from hardware stores and car washes to Tiffany's on Rodeo Drive (which allows leashed dogs under fifty pounds). There is even a hairstylist, Salon Paul/Florent at Laurel Canyon, where dogs are welcome to visit and wait while their owners get groomed. Another fun suggestion she offers is a stroll with your dog down the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Some restaurants even put dog food on the menu. The Park Bench Cafe in Huntington Beach, California, has two sections, one specifically for people with their dogs. Since owner Mike Bartusick instituted the policy six years ago, his dog business has grown fivefold, the dog menu now boasting a dozen selections. His eatery's policy has strict rules: no dogs on chairs; and no dogs eating off the table, from your fork, or from your plate.
Susan Gilbert, author of the e-book How to Take Your Small Dog Everywhere — From Around the Corner to Around the World (www.firstclasspettravel.com) is a San Diego resident whose delightful and comperhensive account of her travels with Spencer, her ten-year-old Yorkie, is chock-full of hints to make travel easy and fun for you and your small dog. When you download it, you'll also get a free ten-part course featuring hints on traveling with your dog, a subscription to Spencer's e-zine, and a pet-friendly hotel and restaurant guide.
In her own hometown, Gilbert lists several pet-friendly restaurants that she and Spencer have frequented, offering a thumbnail review of each: The Parkhouse Eatery, Trattoria La Strada, Point Loma Seafoods, Cafe Italia, Terra Restaurant, Pacific Fish Co., and the Gulf Coast Grill all allow patio dining with your dog. In nearby La Jolla, the Beach House Brewery and Girard Gourmet are equally pet-friendly, she advises.
At www.citydog.net you'll find City Dog guidebooks available for seven major U.S. cities: New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Atlanta, Detroit, and Washington, D.C., as well as a national guide to wonderful places specifically for dogs, highlighting attractions such as boat and carriage rides, museums, restaurants, parks, beaches, and lodgings.
