Do you know where to go in Coronado when your dog needs a good run and perhaps some social interaction with other four-legged friends? While most of Coronado's parks and beaches do not permit pets, there are three that do. A visit to any of these special places is likely to bring a grin to your furry friend's face.

Coronado Cays Park
For a nice walk on a long, flat, grassy area with a great breeze off the ocean head to Coronado Cays Park on Coronado Cays Boulevard, just south of the Cays main entrance and wrapped around the fire station. This 6.8-acre park has it all: five tennis courts, a basketball court, three horseshoe pitches, restrooms, children's playground equipment, drinking fountains, and a low shower near the swing set. If you haven't brought water for your pet, take her to the south fountain, near the shady picnic tables, where there is a special dog bowl at the fountain's base.

After school and on weekends, there are usually soccer practices or games on the open grassy fields. This is where Nado Select, part of the competitive club soccer system, plays. Keep your dog on the leash, and follow the sidewalk past the soccer fields to the open area between the sidewalk and the sea wall. Once you are on this broad strip of grass, leashes can come off. Dogipot bags are available to clean up after your pet, which is not only good manners, but required by the Coronado Municipal Code.

Busy times at the leash-free area of Coronado Cays Park are weekday and Saturday mornings and late afternoons. Barry Thomas brings his dog Cleo, a French bulldog, to play at the park most afternoons and evenings and the pooch has turned into a local celebrity of sorts, as it plays "ball" with a giant inflatable. "This is her fifth ball," says Thomas. "She tries to bite holes in them and every now and then succeeds."

Vetter Park
Vetter Park, a grassy half-acre triangle bordered by towering palm trees, was named in honor of Coronado's former mayor Dr. Paul Vetter, who served from 1968 to 1970 during the time the Coronado Bridge was opened. When this park was named, the City Council decided that it would be the last park to be named after a person.

Bounded by Cajon Place and Jacinto and Guadalupe avenues, this gently sloping park is set in a quiet residential quadrant, just a block or two off the busier Glorietta and Pomona avenues. Vetter Park has two swings and a bench, and a Dogipot litter bag dispenser. On windy days, small branches, leaves and seed pods provide natural toys and additional sources of fun for canine visitors. Channing Devoueroix takes her little furball, Annie, for romps at Vetter Park. Devoueroix keeps Annie's leash on, in deference to the technicality that dogs must be on a leash here, but lets her run with it, dragging it along behind her. "I can step on the leash to stop her if I need to," she says.

Dog Beach
It is not quite clear how long the north end of Central Beach has been a leash-free beach. Ed Kleeman, who has worked for the city of Coronado for 30 years, says "It's been Dog Beach for as long as I've been here." Mayor Tom Smisek concurs that "it seems like that area has been reserved for dogs forever."

Dog Beach is right next to the Navy's double fence at the north end of Ocean Boulevard, and is reached by walking your dog on its leash down the posted path to the water. Everyone seems to have their own special time to visit. Athletic dogs accompanying runners; grunting, asthmatic bulldogs; and middle-age Labrador retrievers all quiver with excitement as they head for the water's edge. Masters come equipped with "Chuckit!" ball launchers as their ever-watchful dogs are ready to dive into the wild surf to capture and bring back the prize: over and over again. Some owners come with tennis balls and rackets. Through it all, the dogs are surprisingly cordial to one another: no matter which lucky dog gets to the ball first, there's rarely an argument as the ball is carried back and deposited at the foot of the thing-that-throws-it.

Whether visiting a park or the beach, it is important to read the posted signs and know the rules. Leash requirements and waste disposal rules are enforced by both the Coronado Police Department and the Department of Animal Services. "We respond to complaints, and we also act if we see violations," says Commander Mike Lawton of the CPD. "Our main goal is to educate the public about the health and safety results of their actions." On Dog Beach, enforcement is a little different. According to Lawton, "Dog Beach is technically owned by the U. S. government. Police from the Department of Defense enforce our Coronado ordinances there, but act under their own jurisdiction. If a stray animal is picked up on Dog Beach, we have an agreement that it will be housed at our Coronado facility."

In Coronado, you've got several beautiful places to take your pet to play. Following the rules will ensure that dogs and people alike will continue to enjoy the varied playgrounds set aside for them.