Halloween on the Gulf Coast is not just for the two-legged crowd. If you live here with a dog, you know the season has its own calendar, and the star of it is Dog-A-Ween at the Downtown Sarasota Farmers Market. I bring my three every year, my two Chihuahuas and my Doberman, so here is my pet-friendly plan for the rest of October and the cooler months ahead.
Dog-A-Ween at the Farmers Market
On a late-October Saturday morning, the annual Dog-A-Ween costume parade and contest takes over Lemon Avenue at the Downtown Sarasota Farmers Market, with market vendors joining the fun as pups and people stroll the stalls in costume. Registration opens around 9 a.m. and the parade steps off around 10, with the whole market turning into one big, good-natured costume party. It is worth checking the market's calendar for this year's exact date, and yes, I have already started thinking about what the little ones and the big one will wear. Between the market, the full fall event calendar and the cooler air, it is the friendliest morning of the season.
Cooler Mornings Mean Longer Walks
The weather shift is the real gift of fall for dog owners here. Mornings on the Legacy Trail are cooler and golden, and the paved, shaded miles make it my go-to for a long walk with all three. My full list of favorite dog-friendly trails and spots is on my dog-friendly guide, from the preserve trails near Palmer Ranch to the bayfront walks downtown. When the mood for the beach strikes, Brohard Beach and Paw Park in Venice is Florida's top-rated off-leash dog beach, with a fenced area for the little dogs and open sand for the big ones to splash. Closer to home, Nokomis Beach welcomes leashed dogs for a peaceful sunrise walk.
Paw Parks & Patios for the Whole Pack
When we want to socialize, the fenced paw parks are the place: Arlington and 17th Street in Sarasota, Woodmere in Venice and the Central Sarasota Pup Park all have separate small-dog areas and water stations. And because dining with a dog is a way of life here, I keep a short list of patios that welcome well-behaved pups, from The Old Salty Dog on City Island to the Blue Sunshine Patio near Marina Jacks and Origin Craft Beer and Pizza Cafe right in Palmer Ranch. An afternoon can run from a patio lunch straight into a bayfront stroll without ever leaving the dog behind.
Fall is when I am reminded why we chose this life, and the dogs are a big part of that. If you are planning a move to the coast with pets in tow, that is a question I love to help with, from which communities welcome large dogs to where the off-leash spots are. Reach out and I will help you find a home where everyone in the family, four legs included, feels right at home.