Naples looks into dog-friendly beaches, asks the county for help

It has been a few weeks since the City of Naples announced plans to make some beaches dog-friendly. The city said it is looking into several options and asking Collier County for help.

Michael Tirpack said his canine pal, Scooter, loves to swim.

“He’s like a beaver,” he said, “You give him the gulf he’ll swim his legs off.”

But not in Collier County or Naples where there are no dog beaches. Tirpack told WINK News that has got to change.

John Tetterton is right there with him. His dog, Sanibel, is named after the beach.

“It’s kind of disappointing that we live on the jewel of the emerald with the gulf being so close and we have to travel so far to get to it,” Tetterton said. “Especially with the pups.”

The closest dog beach is in Bonita Springs, in neighboring Lee County. The City of Naples is considering allowing dogs on its beach only in early morning hours. But not all neighbors support that plan.

“They must be cat lovers,” Tetterton said.

The city’s community advisory board is asking Collier County to make part of its beaches dog-friendly, too. The beach they are considering is Clam Pass.

We talked with several dog owners who said Clam Pass is not accessible. They would have to take a long boardwalk to get there. However, they also said it is better than nothing.

Some also oppose dog beaches for unsightly and unsanitary reasons. Gary Wetterlund worries pet owners would not clean up after their dogs.

“They would just walk down the beach and unfortunately, there aren’t a lot of receptacles either for them,” Wetterlund said. “So you’re ending up carrying it for a ways and I just don’t think that that would happen.”