Key West--once upon a time, a dog friendly city!

I know you've heard it. Key West is a laid-back place where dogs are integrated into the outdoor bar and dining scenes--where dogs are so beloved that there's a beach (Dog Beach, of course) just for them and a local park sports palapas and chairs for dog owners who enjoy letting their dogs run free.

Well...not exactly.  Not anymore.

This morning we piled into the car with Maggie and Ted and Lucy for a day-trip to Key West.  It would take about two hours, each way...but no problem--once there we'd let Maggie run at Higgs Dog Park (at the corner of Atlantic and White, www.keywestdogpark.org), then meet Steve and Noreen for lunch at the legendary Louie's Backyard (www.louiesbackyard.com), right next to Dog Beach.

Higgs Dog Park was indeed a hit. It's immense, shaded, has easy parking and lots of fresh water. Maggie tooled right on in and made pals with a female mixed-breed right about her age.


Making friends at Higgs Dog Park






















How fun is this??

Heading for the water bowls--enough is enough!





The walk to Louie's Backyard was steamy and in spite of the tons of cold fresh water Maggie had slurped up, she was hot and we were looking forward to settling down under and umbrella with our friends around the table and Maggie at our feet.  But it wasn't to be.  It seems as though there was some "dog incident" litigation that changed doglife in Key West as of last spring.  Apparently a patron tripped over another patron's dog at a local restaurant. Injuries, suffering and lawyers ensued and a judgement was handed down that (interestingly, I think) held the injured party (a woman from Massachusetts) and the restuarant owner equally responsible. The restaurant owners were assessed $18,000. Read more about it here:

Dog incident changes dog-friendly Key West

Now restaurant owners have retreated from their dog-friendly positions in most establishments in the city. At Louie's Backyard we could only be actually at the bar with Maggie--not on the immediately adjacent shaded patio, inspite of the fact that there was not a soul at any of the shaded tables. Ultimately, we stayed and had lunch (the alternative was a treck in the heat to the apparently more dog-friendly Salsa Loca--but Maggie was already overheated). We gave Maggie lots of ice water and concocted some shade.

Maggie's bit of shade at the Afterdeck.

After lots of ice tea and some light lunch (it was HOT!) we gave up on an afternoon of shopping and decided to just do a photo shoot at the famous "southernmost point of land" marker.  Luckily, it was right around the corner.




We made it!