I read the other day that Tampa was selected by a national dog group as Florida’s most dog-friendly city.  I will not dispute that honor, but I must state that pets have it pretty good in many Florida places.  There is no forcing the poor pet into the snow like I did in growing up in Massachusetts.

Florida has dozens of  restaurants with year-round patios where dogs (and I guess cats) are allowed.  With tourism as our primary industry, Florida has to offer hotels and resorts that accept pets in order to meet a large market demand. 

Here are some of my comments and choices:  

My TAMPA BAY is a family-oriented tourist area with all the elements mentioned in the last paragraph. Down the street from me is Hyde Park Village, a shopping area where all the restaurants have open pet-friendly outdoor patios. All over the place are dish bowls with fresh water. One of the distinctive features of Florida is that so many dog parks have water access.  My local spot is the David Island Dog Park, actually named for our first family vet. It has two fenced in areas: one with lots or grass and one with a bay beach.

                Pinellas County has perhaps the most glamorous salt water beach dog park in Fort DeSoto County Park , voted one year as the best beach in the United States.  St. Petersburg Beach’s most glamorous resort, the historic Don Cesar Resort allows pets and even once promoted doggie massages.  Honeymoon Island State Park in Dunedin allows dogs on a leash on the huge beach, something not allowed in most beach state parks.

FLORIDA STATE PARKS:  Florida has 700,000 acres of nature in its state parks and while the parks have leash laws due to the wildlife, many have large enclosed dog parks and accept pets in the campgrounds.  I know some people with pets that travel from park to park every winter.

AMUSEMENT PARKS:  At Walt Disney World, only the Fort Wilderness Campgrounds have facilities for pets on leash, but at Universal Studios, four of the big resorts are Loews hotels which allow for dogs in certain rooms and have dog parks.

                We were dog-sitting a relative’s golden retriever, who had a serious operation, and we stayed at the Portofino Bay Resort.  When  I took Mugsy for a walk, I put a shirt on him to cover the large bare shaved square on his side.  We were suddenly surrounded by excited kids who thought the dog was the retriever in the movie Air Bud!  I did not have the heart to tell the kids, but Mugsy loved the attention.   Services dogs, of course , are allowed in all of Florida’s amusement parks.

GREAT DOG PARKS and TOWNS:  Dozens of dog parks in Florida have won honors, but here are some you might consider if you and your pet is traveling in the area.  While every area of Florida has hotels and motels that take pets to truly enjoy a pet vacation you need areas to stroll with your pets on a leash and fortunately some of Florida’s best restaurant areas have many outdoor patios and welcome pet mats.  A more serious problem is to combine these facilities with a nearby dog-friendly beach.

KEY WEST is the kind of funky town with a lot of dog-friendly bed and breakfast spots like Chelsea House and Courtney’s Place and along DuVal Street lots of animals on leash heading for restaurants and bars.  You can bar hop with pets – I saw more animals than people at the patio of Louie’s Backyard.  Higgs Beach Dog Park is beautifully shaded, but it needs to change its name for there is NO beach.

ORLANDO AREA: While there are lots of restaurants with pet-friendly outdoor facilities, they are too spread out.  My pick is to walk your pet in downtown Winter Park and afterward visit Florida’s best dog park: the People’s Park.

MIAMI BEACH:  You can walk your pet along the Art Deco district and find some pet-friendly outsoor stops, but if you want your pet on the beach you have to  up to North Shore Park and the Bark Beach, which unfortunately charges $25 to non-resident tourists.  Loews Miami Beach Resort is the best pet-friendly spot on the beach.  Dogs can swim along the openings on the Rickenbacker Causeway like Tampa Bay’s Courtney Campbell Causeway, but a lot of people want to be near food and bathrooms.

PALM BEACH COUNTY:. One of the state’s best beach parks is the Jupiter Beach at A1A and Mareinski.  It is free and wonderful set up for dog lovers.  It is a drive to motels and hotels and restaurants.

COCOA BEACH:   Despite having dog surfing contests Brevard County does not want a ton of dogs on leashes around the famous pier, but I noticed as you got away from the crowded sections, a lot of dogs owned by resort residents took leashed dogs down to the Atlantic.

FLAGLER BEACH is my choice for the best small town beach community with a large section of public beach open to pets, some patio restaurants, and enough motels and small hotels accepting pets.