The Dog Lover's Companion to California: The Inside Scoop on Where to Take Your Dog (Dog Lover's Companion Guides)
Product Details
Editorial Reviews
Review
"Essential and fun guides for dog lovers everywhere."
About the Author
Maria Goodavage and Jake the Yellow-Lab-Sort-of-Dog have traveled throughout the state to check out some of the most dog-friendly parks, beaches, lodgings, and restaurants in the world. As part of their research, they've ridden on ferries, horse-drawn carriages, cable cars, and steam trains. They've visited drive-in movies, kitschy tourist attractions, and dog-friendly wineries. They've eaten at restaurants where dogs are treated almost like people (except they never get the bill). They've stayed at the best hotels, the worst motels, and everything in between. Jake's favorite saying: "You're not really gonna leave the house without me, are ya?" (This is usually accompanied by all his extra folds of neck skin drooping forward into his face, his floppy ears hanging especially low, his tail sagging dejectedly, and his big brown eyes looking remarkably tearful.) Since Jake is a dog without a driver's license (his furry feet don't reach the pedals), he relies on Maria, former longtime USA Today correspondent, to be his chauffeur. Maria is well qualified. She started chauffeuring dogs in 1989, when her intrepid Airedale, Joe, joined her during some of her travels for the newspaper. Joe and Maria sniffed out enough dog-friendly places that they came out with their first book, The Dog Lover's Companion to the Bay Area, shortly thereafter. The Dog Lover's Companion to California was born next. (Each book is now in its fifth edition!) After 13 years of traveling with Maria, Joe recently left for Dog Heaven, where all the cats are slow and no one tells you not to eat horse manure. Jake says he's proud to be following in Joe's pawsteps. Jake lives near the beach in San Francisco with Maria, her husband, and their daughter.
Customer Reviews
spoiled shelties
This is a great book. It is well worth the money and you could probably get by with just this book when traveling in California.
I wish this author would start traveling all over the country so I could buy thier book for other areas.
I've got MANY books for traveling with our dogs and this is one of the best.
A must have for dogs who love to travel (and their owners)
Very through and informative. The author's style is very energetic and playful (much like a happy dog). So far all of the recommendations have been right on the mark and we have never been disappointed with a review.
Decent book, but not a comprehensive guide
When I read all the stellar reviews for this book, I thought it was the perfect book for me. We have had our dog for two months, and are now venturing out to different places with her. We bought this book last night (and paid full price for it--fancy THAT) in anticipation of a free-roaming day trip today.
First, I do have to say that creating a comprehensive guide is exceedingly difficult. The number of hotels, restaurants and attractions you'd have to visit...well, it's mind-boggling. However, there are both good and bad points to this book, depending on what you're looking for.
Good Points:
1. Very detailed information about the parks, beaches and recreations areas, complete with an easy-to-read rating system (1 to 4 paws) and a clear indicator of off-leash venues (running dog icon). She also includes parking and entrance tips, park amenities that would appeal to your dog, what trails or areas are dog-accessible, etc. Very good listings. This is the main reason you'd want to buy this book.
2. Detailed information on SOME restaurants and hotels and basic information on others. Just thumbing through the book, it's clear that Maria's favorites get lots of detail. For instance, I was thumbing through the book and Roses's Cafe (page 486) in San Francisco gets a full 2/3 of a page. Of course, there was a story attached to that listing of how Maria was introduced to the place, and her experience with it. Other places just list that there is outdoor seating, dogs are allowed, etc. Your mileage may vary.
3. Coverage of the entire state. More breadth, less depth. However, you would think that the local area editions are more comprehensive. Nope. The Bay Area edition seems to have the same information contained in the California edition.
4. Doggie Diversions. Maria lists some great things to do with your dog aside from parks. Shopping, attractions, fun stuff to do. These are sometimes surprising.
5. Other information. I never knew that you could take a dog onto a San Francisco Muni bus or a Cable Car. Maria includes the requirements (muzzle, non-commute hours for Muni) and costs. I also never knew that Nordstrom's welcomes dogs. Dogs and shopping...oh boy!
Bad Points:
1. Only the parks are on the area map. Okay, so let's say you're in San Jose and need a place to stay, a place to eat, and a place to run your dog. You can look at the map and see where to run your dog, but how so you know where the restaurants are in conjunction to your dog park? Hm. GPS, I guess.
2. Could use more listings for hotels and restaurants. For instance, dogfriendly.com has 22 listings for restaurants in San Jose; the book has TWO. San Jose is a pretty big city, and the inclusion of only two restaurants is pitiful.
3. Place you can't take your dog. In some instances, Maria includes this info. For instance, you can't take your dog to California State beaches. Rats. However, I was thinking of going to Muir Woods yesterday, and the book didn't say whether dogs were allowed or not. This is a major attraction in Marin County. Perhaps Maria should consider a list of major attractions in tourist areas where dogs ARE and ARE NOT allowed. For instance, are dogs allowed on Pier 39 and Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco? Hm. I had to sleuth a bit and read the info on Aquatic Park and the RESTAURANT section...the info was there (the answer is yes).
4. Small nit pick: Listings should include name, address, phone number and THEN the info on why it's good. Sometimes the address info is buried within the text. Most times, it's at the end. A good editor would've made this a bit friendlier. It's a bit of a nit-pick, but it's annoying.
All in all, it's a decent book, but it has its flaws. I think it is better than many of the other books out there (better detailed info than dogfriendly.com's book, and rates each of the parks), but has fewer listings than others. I think it's worth your going to a store to check it out. Even with the good reviews here, I was a bit skeptical, and I needed to compare and contrast the book with others in person to make a final buying decision.
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