The Dog Lover’s Companion to California has the inside scoop on the best dog runs, parks, beaches, hiking trails, camping areas, pet-friendly businesses, and much more. Local author Maria Goodavage and her trusty companion Jake have dug up many surprising resources available to dogs in the Golden State, such as baseball games, summer camps, and pet parades. For the less outdoorsy dog, there are doggy spas, art openings, and even winery visits! Packed with helpful maps, up-to-date leash laws, and a useful "paw" ranking system for all locations in the book, The Dog Lover’s Companion to California is a dog’s best friend.
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About the Author
Jake the Yellow-Lab-sort-of-dog and Maria Goodavage have traveled throughout California to check out some of the most dog-friendly parks, beaches, lodgings, and restaurants in the world. As part of their research, they’ve ridden on ferries, horse-drawn carriages, cable cars, gondolas, and steam trains. They’ve visited chichi art galleries, dumpy drive-in movies, kitschy tourist attractions, dog-friendly wineries, high-end stores, ski resorts, major-league ballgames, and even had high tea together. They’ve eaten at restaurants where dogs are treated almost like people (except they never get the bill). They’ve stayed at the best hotels, the worst flea-bitten motels, and everything in between. Jake’s favorite saying: “You’re not really gonna leave the house without me, are ya?” (This is usually accompanied by all his extra folds of neck skin drooping forward into his face, his floppy ears hanging especially low, his tail sagging dejectedly, and his big seal-like eyes looking wet and wide and oh-so-woeful.)
Since Jake still doesn’t have a driver’s license after all these years, he relies on Maria, former longtime USA Today correspondent, to be his chauffeur. Maria is well qualified—she started chauffeuring dogs many years back, when her intrepid Airedale, Joe, joined her during some of her travels for the newspaper. With all of their experiences on the road, it was only a matter of time before a book was born, followed by a series of books. Both The Dog Lover’s Companion to California and The Dog Lover’s Companion to the San Francisco Bay Area are now in their seventh editions.
Maria is a freelance writer, as well as an editor and blogger for Dogster, one of the most widely read dog websites in the world. She lives near the beach in San Francisco with her husband, their daughter, and Jake.
Phil Frank (1943–2007) penned the cartoon strip Farley for more than 21 years.
Since Jake still doesn’t have a driver’s license after all these years, he relies on Maria, former longtime USA Today correspondent, to be his chauffeur. Maria is well qualified—she started chauffeuring dogs many years back, when her intrepid Airedale, Joe, joined her during some of her travels for the newspaper. With all of their experiences on the road, it was only a matter of time before a book was born, followed by a series of books. Both The Dog Lover’s Companion to California and The Dog Lover’s Companion to the San Francisco Bay Area are now in their seventh editions.
Maria is a freelance writer, as well as an editor and blogger for Dogster, one of the most widely read dog websites in the world. She lives near the beach in San Francisco with her husband, their daughter, and Jake.
Phil Frank (1943–2007) penned the cartoon strip Farley for more than 21 years.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
52 of 53 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
When I read all the stellar reviews for this book, I thought it was the perfect book for me. We have had our dog for two months, and are now venturing out to different places with her. We bought this book last night (and paid full price for it--fancy THAT) in anticipation of a free-roaming day trip today.
First, I do have to say that creating a comprehensive guide is exceedingly difficult. The number of hotels, restaurants and attractions you'd have to visit...well, it's mind-boggling. However, there are both good and bad points to this book, depending on what you're looking for.
Good Points:
1. Very detailed information about the parks, beaches and recreations areas, complete with an easy-to-read rating system (1 to 4 paws) and a clear indicator of off-leash venues (running dog icon). She also includes parking and entrance tips, park amenities that would appeal to your dog, what trails or areas are dog-accessible, etc. Very good listings. This is the main reason you'd want to buy this book.
2. Detailed information on SOME restaurants and hotels and basic information on others. Just thumbing through the book, it's clear that Maria's favorites get lots of detail. For instance, I was thumbing through the book and Roses's Cafe (page 486) in San Francisco gets a full 2/3 of a page. Of course, there was a story attached to that listing of how Maria was introduced to the place, and her experience with it. Other places just list that there is outdoor seating, dogs are allowed, etc. Your mileage may vary.
3. Coverage of the entire state. More breadth, less depth. However, you would think that the local area editions are more comprehensive. Nope. The Bay Area edition seems to have the same information contained in the California edition.
4. Doggie Diversions. Maria lists some great things to do with your dog aside from parks. Shopping, attractions, fun stuff to do. These are sometimes surprising.
5. Other information. I never knew that you could take a dog onto a San Francisco Muni bus or a Cable Car. Maria includes the requirements (muzzle, non-commute hours for Muni) and costs. I also never knew that Nordstrom's welcomes dogs. Dogs and shopping...oh boy!
Bad Points:
1. Only the parks are on the area map. Okay, so let's say you're in San Jose and need a place to stay, a place to eat, and a place to run your dog. You can look at the map and see where to run your dog, but how so you know where the restaurants are in conjunction to your dog park? Hm. GPS, I guess.
2. Could use more listings for hotels and restaurants. For instance, dogfriendly.com has 22 listings for restaurants in San Jose; the book has TWO. San Jose is a pretty big city, and the inclusion of only two restaurants is pitiful.
3. Place you can't take your dog. In some instances, Maria includes this info. For instance, you can't take your dog to California State beaches. Rats. However, I was thinking of going to Muir Woods yesterday, and the book didn't say whether dogs were allowed or not. This is a major attraction in Marin County. Perhaps Maria should consider a list of major attractions in tourist areas where dogs ARE and ARE NOT allowed. For instance, are dogs allowed on Pier 39 and Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco? Hm. I had to sleuth a bit and read the info on Aquatic Park and the RESTAURANT section...the info was there (the answer is yes).
4. Small nit pick: Listings should include name, address, phone number and THEN the info on why it's good. Sometimes the address info is buried within the text. Most times, it's at the end. A good editor would've made this a bit friendlier. It's a bit of a nit-pick, but it's annoying.
All in all, it's a decent book, but it has its flaws. I think it is better than many of the other books out there (better detailed info than dogfriendly.com's book, and rates each of the parks), but has fewer listings than others. I think it's worth your going to a store to check it out. Even with the good reviews here, I was a bit skeptical, and I needed to compare and contrast the book with others in person to make a final buying decision.
First, I do have to say that creating a comprehensive guide is exceedingly difficult. The number of hotels, restaurants and attractions you'd have to visit...well, it's mind-boggling. However, there are both good and bad points to this book, depending on what you're looking for.
Good Points:
1. Very detailed information about the parks, beaches and recreations areas, complete with an easy-to-read rating system (1 to 4 paws) and a clear indicator of off-leash venues (running dog icon). She also includes parking and entrance tips, park amenities that would appeal to your dog, what trails or areas are dog-accessible, etc. Very good listings. This is the main reason you'd want to buy this book.
2. Detailed information on SOME restaurants and hotels and basic information on others. Just thumbing through the book, it's clear that Maria's favorites get lots of detail. For instance, I was thumbing through the book and Roses's Cafe (page 486) in San Francisco gets a full 2/3 of a page. Of course, there was a story attached to that listing of how Maria was introduced to the place, and her experience with it. Other places just list that there is outdoor seating, dogs are allowed, etc. Your mileage may vary.
3. Coverage of the entire state. More breadth, less depth. However, you would think that the local area editions are more comprehensive. Nope. The Bay Area edition seems to have the same information contained in the California edition.
4. Doggie Diversions. Maria lists some great things to do with your dog aside from parks. Shopping, attractions, fun stuff to do. These are sometimes surprising.
5. Other information. I never knew that you could take a dog onto a San Francisco Muni bus or a Cable Car. Maria includes the requirements (muzzle, non-commute hours for Muni) and costs. I also never knew that Nordstrom's welcomes dogs. Dogs and shopping...oh boy!
Bad Points:
1. Only the parks are on the area map. Okay, so let's say you're in San Jose and need a place to stay, a place to eat, and a place to run your dog. You can look at the map and see where to run your dog, but how so you know where the restaurants are in conjunction to your dog park? Hm. GPS, I guess.
2. Could use more listings for hotels and restaurants. For instance, dogfriendly.com has 22 listings for restaurants in San Jose; the book has TWO. San Jose is a pretty big city, and the inclusion of only two restaurants is pitiful.
3. Place you can't take your dog. In some instances, Maria includes this info. For instance, you can't take your dog to California State beaches. Rats. However, I was thinking of going to Muir Woods yesterday, and the book didn't say whether dogs were allowed or not. This is a major attraction in Marin County. Perhaps Maria should consider a list of major attractions in tourist areas where dogs ARE and ARE NOT allowed. For instance, are dogs allowed on Pier 39 and Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco? Hm. I had to sleuth a bit and read the info on Aquatic Park and the RESTAURANT section...the info was there (the answer is yes).
4. Small nit pick: Listings should include name, address, phone number and THEN the info on why it's good. Sometimes the address info is buried within the text. Most times, it's at the end. A good editor would've made this a bit friendlier. It's a bit of a nit-pick, but it's annoying.
All in all, it's a decent book, but it has its flaws. I think it is better than many of the other books out there (better detailed info than dogfriendly.com's book, and rates each of the parks), but has fewer listings than others. I think it's worth your going to a store to check it out. Even with the good reviews here, I was a bit skeptical, and I needed to compare and contrast the book with others in person to make a final buying decision.
34 of 34 people found the following review helpful
By Yoshitsune
Format:Paperback
I would recommend "The California Dog Lover's Companion" to anyone who has a dog and lives in California or plans on visiting the Golden State. This book is very well researched and put together. Locations to take your dog are easy to find because the book is split into sections for each county in California. The book lists places you can stay and restaurants that are dog friendly; I even discovered a few places I didn't even know about that were close to my home. One very valuable thing this books does is to tell you the parks and open areas that allow dogs to run without a leash or if you'll need to keep your pet on the leash. This is a great book for all dog lovers in California!
26 of 27 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I am a dog that is very much in love with Joe Dog and his human helper Maria Goodavage for the work they did putting this huge sensational book together. If I could talk I'd reccommend this book to all my friends. Its a good thing I can type because at least I can reccommend it to their humans.
This book has had my "masters" take me on great journeys all over California. They laugh when they read it and then they make some phone calls and suddenly I'm in the car and we're going off to some very cool vacation. I always get treated well by the innkeepers and I always get to go to restaurants, well at least the outside eating areas and I always get to do nice things like go to a winery or take a cable car or ride a gondola up a mountain to go hiking down.
My neighbor friend Maggie always got left behind and put in a kennel when her "owners" went on vacation, so I had my people get this book for her people and now Maggie gets to go on vacation to!
My "owners" say the book is hilariously written and super accurate and they sometimes read me about the places their going to take me and this is nice. They love the paw ratings (one to four paws) and the helpful information in the front and back. The Golden Bone Awards are a big hit with them. They look at them and say ooh, let's see why this one got an award and then they read it and then we're staying at a great new place or something.
My favorite time so far has been when we went on vacation in gold country. I even got to dig for gold thanks to this book. I found a little to! It was kind of a set up, but it was fun.
The only other books I've shown interest in have been books I could chew, so you gotta know this is a real good one.
Five paws up. This book has made my life really great.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great reference
this book is huge! leave it in the car and plan a great road trip with the pup.
I end up using the bay area book more, but used this for a trip to Monterey & Carmel. Read more
I end up using the bay area book more, but used this for a trip to Monterey & Carmel. Read more
Published 3 months ago by V. Weng
5.0 out of 5 stars
Really helpful
This is a great book if you are traveling in California with a dog. Has a lot of the dog parks listed. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Jan
5.0 out of 5 stars
great reference!
we use this book all the time to plan out our trips.....we won't go somewhere if a dog isn't allowed so this book is perfect. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Tiff
2.0 out of 5 stars
Don't waste your time or money on the Kindle edition right now
THIS REVIEW IS FOR THE KINDLE VERSION
I bought the e-version for a trip to San Diego on Thanksgiving 2012. Read more
I bought the e-version for a trip to San Diego on Thanksgiving 2012. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Joanne R Fong
3.0 out of 5 stars
California Dog Friendly Guide
It is very nice to have some inside information on good places to take your dog. This book was helpful BUT it represented itself as being up to date and it was not. Read more
Published 7 months ago by LJK
5.0 out of 5 stars
Dog Lovers Companion to California
Gave this as a gift to my daughter and her family who have adopted a lovely Golden Retriever from rescue. Read more
Published 16 months ago by B. Marks
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Book!
Great book for all dog owners. I find the information right on!!! Although my dog already always goes everywhere with me, we have been discovering wonderful new places every time... Read more
Published 16 months ago by Cindy
5.0 out of 5 stars
loved it
the book I order arrived very quickly and was just like the descipition describe it. I love it. I will look here 1st before my next order.
Published on October 8, 2010 by iSammy!
2.0 out of 5 stars
Not worth it
I thought this would be neat to look over what CA has to offer dogs, but it's too general and the number of things listed in Southern CA where I live are too limited. Read more
Published on July 25, 2010 by Alex
5.0 out of 5 stars
doggie places exposed
after checking this book out of the library and renewing it twice, I had to buy my own copy.
Any time I take a trip I carry it in the car so I can find a hotel, restaurant, or... Read more
Any time I take a trip I carry it in the car so I can find a hotel, restaurant, or... Read more
Published on April 26, 2010 by Myles W. English
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