Aug 30: A Dog's Life

Life is getting better for South Florida dogs. And getting cooler too. If you're not from around these parts, you may be surprised to learn that dogs aren't allowed on most of Greater Fort Lauderdale's gorgeous beaches. If you think about it for a moment, though, you'll quickly understand why. Quite frankly, the doggy ban is part of the reason the beaches are gorgeous. I was at the Fort Lauderdale beach this morning and it was clean and lovely as always - and dogless. But now, dog lovers, there's a spot for your special pal to practice that dog paddle. It is a jumping dock for dogs only. Neat, huh? This 40-foot dock is more than two feet above the water at Tigertail Lake Park, located at 280 Gulf Stream Way in Dania Beach. That's just behind Bass Pro shops near Griffin Road.

Picture Fido leaping into the air for that Frisbee you tossed, snatching it in his jaws and flopping happily into the water. That's just the kind of thing this dock was built to handle. For hot pups in the heat of summer, life just got distinctly better.

This delightful idea came about through the efforts of a group called Performance Pups Inc. You can check out their website at http://performancepupsinc.com/ You'll find a calendar that gives days and times for the dock jumping, which generally happens from 6-8 p.m. on Mondays and during varying weekend hours. It costs $10 on weekends and $5 on those Monday evenings. Not a bad deal to cool off your Jack Russell or Black Lab or whatever. Honestly, most dogs in South Florida seem to have it pretty good. Usually. The old phrase "a dog's life" used to suggest a lowly sort of existence. Not any more, not in this society. These days, dogs are chauffeured around in baby strollers and served hand cooked meals of organic food. They go to doggy dentists and doggy therapists and get doggy cosmetic surgery. Don't ask me my personal views about all this - you don't want to know. Nonetheless, my point is that dogs are treated like family anymore. Better than family in many cases. But with all this water around our area, doggy swimming still is a problem. If it's not off-limits beaches, then it's canals and lakes that may be dangerous. As in, alligator dangerous. Enough said. This Dania dock-jumping lake is alligator free and just waiting for your panting dog to leap into its waters. Sounds like a good thing to me. I may not be big on dogs in baby strollers but in sunny, summery Florida even pooches need a refreshing dip now and again.