Two legs too many in the sand
Pro tip to prospective opinion writers: If you want to elicit a strong response, write about pets. Especially if you suggest that there are places they should not go. Marie Myung-Ok Lee’s Aug. 13 column urging readers not to bring their dogs to the beach drew comments from more than a dozen readers, with dog owners largely taking issue and the rest calling for tougher enforcement of the ban on pets at the ocean. Some dog owners suggested that Lee’s autistic son, who fears the animals, might benefit from more contact with compassionate canines. And some of the owners sympathetic with Lee’s position offered an excuse for the widespread disregard for the ban: There are no beaches near Los Angeles that allow dog owners to frolic with their pooches. Here is a sampling of the reactions. —Jon Healey, deputy editorial page editor
Dr. Mark Hoffer of Long Beach explained the rationale behind the ban:
It is not just because of dog bites! Dog hair and even the remains of feces picked up from the ground contain parasitic eggs, which may be dangerous for human beings. In some climates these include hookworms and round worms that may penetrate the skin in barefoot walking on the beach or in a park. The most serious has been known to migrate to the eyes of youngsters and cause blindness. This is a serious public health issue.
Karen Rose of Los Angeles wouldn’t stop with beaches:
Don’t take Bowser to the beach, or the supermarket, or the store, or the library, or the restaurant (unless outside area is available). I don’t want to buy food that your dog has sniffed or left hair on or lifted his leg on. People with allergies are affected by what your dog leaves behind.
But the city is to blame too, writes L.A. resident Charles Axilbund:
While I commiserate with Lee and her son, and deplore the behavior of the dog owners she mentions in her article, the problem lies with the city of Los Angeles. With over 70 miles of coastline between Malibu and Long Beach, there is not a single designated dog beach.
Lee and her son deserve to have a dog-free beach, but at the same time, the many dog owners of Los Angeles deserve to have an area where they can exercise and swim their dogs.
Our culture is to blame too, David Sears of Playa del Rey writes:
A dog on the beach is only one of many common offenses, including falsely claiming a pet is a “service animal” to justify its entrance to a restaurant or museum, blowing through stop signs and red lights or using turn-only lanes as passing lanes, and using cellphones in theaters, to name a few. These behaviors are evidence of the selfishness, lack of empathy and sense of entitlement that permeate today’s culture.
But dog owners like Sandra Dannenbaum of Venice pushed back:
Venice is one of the most dog-centric cities in the country. In the past, ordinances concerning dogs on the beach were usually enforced. But with all that we have to put up with here — the homeless, the meth addicts, the tourists, the illegal vendors, the gentrification, the Airbnbs, the thieves, traffic — it’s good that the powers have cut us some slack.
Not every dog person takes their dog to the sand. There are groups of neighbors and their dogs who meet on the grass at sunset. It builds community. And Gary Dolgin of Santa Monica points to a different beach nuisance:
I live just across Pacific Coast Highway from Will Rogers State Beach. However, when I beach-comb with my dog, it’s on a private stretch in southern Malibu where the residents jog and walk their own dogs. A harmonious, peaceful stroll.
I avoid what’s in my frontyard not because I don’t have contempt for the policy, but because of my familiarity with human beach visitors, some of whom ought to be leashed.