Dog City Dime Store: Dogs at the Beach

Saturday, July 7, 2012

Dogs at the Beach

One of my favorite memories growing up on the northern California coast was taking out-of-town guests to visit the beach for the first time. There is nothing like that endless horizon and drama of the surf. Last week we took the dogs to the beach for the first time.

Of course we live on an island, so they had seen lots of docks and rocky beaches. The ocean beach here in Washington, however, is wild and rugged. It's not built for sunbathers, but beachcombers. You'd be wise to take along a lightweight jacket, as it's almost always windy. Kelp, sand dollars, driftwood, and a huge expanse of sand.

Arlo hit the ground running and just went wild tearing around at superdog speed. Hannah pottered along drinking in the smells and investigating all the interesting flotsam. The granddog fetched driftwood in the waves and tried to get the other two to join him in the water. It was a sandy drive home, with three silent, exhausted beachcombers on board.

One of the stops we made was a cannery called Nelson Crab Inc. They had just finished canning some Dungeness crab, so we picked up several for the home pantry. We got even more of the razor clams, as they are such a regional delicacy that we rarely see in local stores. If you ever get to Tokeland, Washington, be sure you stop by the cannery. It's been there since 1934, and their shrimp cocktails are simply the best.

Even if your dogs don't get to the beach this year, we have some nautical theme items that they will love.

Here is a Dungeness crab on a navy and white stripe harness with red trim.

If you are heading for Tokeland, you may want to pick up this raincoat for your dog as well. It's perfect for the wind-blown sand as well as rain.

That crab logo is on the stuff sack that holds this raincoat when it's not in use. A fun design that makes this easy to toss into the car and carry along.

The raincoat just folds down into the pocket and is ready to travel. The lightweight, tightly woven fabric will shed sand and dry out quickly. Gotta love the image here.