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The Dog Lover's Companion to California: The Inside Scoop on Where to Take Your Dog (Dog Lover's Companion Guides) (Paperback)

~ (Author), Phil Frank (Illustrator) "Just before my deadline for the sixth edition of this book, Phil Frank, who illustrated this book and the entire Dog Lover's Companion series, died..." (more)
Key Phrases: regional park, recreation trail, society dog, Main Street, San Francisco, San Diego (more...)

4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (32 customer reviews)

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The Dog Lover's Companion to the San Francisco Bay Area: The Inside Scoop on Where to Take Your Dog in the Bay Area & Beyond (Dog Lover's Companion Guides) by Maria Goodavage
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Editorial Reviews

Product Description

The Dog Lover's Companion to California has the inside scoop on the best parks, dog runs, beaches, forest preserves, ski 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, ski areas, and pet parades. For the less outdoorsy dog, there are doggy spas, art openings, and even drive-ins! Packed with illustrations by celebrated cartoonist Phil Frank, as well as 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 pet's best friend.

About the Author

Maria Goodavage and Jake the Yellow-Lab-Sort-of-Dog have traveled throughout the state 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, and steam trains. They've visited drive-in movies, kitschy tourist attractions, and dog-friendly wineries. 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 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 brown eyes looking remarkably tearful.) Since Jake is a dog without a driver's license (his furry feet don't reach the pedals), he relies on Maria, former longtime USA Today correspondent, to be his chauffeur. Maria is well qualified. She started chauffeuring dogs in 1989, when her intrepid Airedale, Joe, joined her during some of her travels for the newspaper. Joe and Maria sniffed out enough dog-friendly places that they came out with their first book, The Dog Lover's Companion to the Bay Area, shortly thereafter. The Dog Lover's Companion to California was born next. (Each book is now in its fifth edition!) After 13 years of traveling with Maria, Joe recently left for Dog Heaven, where all the cats are slow and no one tells you not to eat horse manure. Jake says he's proud to be following in Joe's pawsteps. Jake lives near the beach in San Francisco with Maria, her husband, and their daughter. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

Paperback: 1032 pages
Publisher: Avalon Travel Publishing; 5th edition (April 10, 2005)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1566916968
ISBN-13: 978-1566916967
Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.2 x 1.6 inches
Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)

Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (32 customer reviews)

Amazon.com Sales Rank: #645,797 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Inside This Book (learn more)
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First Sentence:
Just before my deadline for the sixth edition of this book, Phil Frank, who illustrated this book and the entire Dog Lover's Companion series, died of a brain tumor. Read the first page

Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
regional park, recreation trail, society dog, mission plaza, separate section for small dogs, visiting national forests, own dog park, permit pooches, pooch fee, pooch paradise, first dog park, leashed pooch, fenced dog park, pooch park, romping room, sans leash, poop bags, dog exercise area, dog fee, dog guests, fenced park, worth sniffing, leashed dog, dog zone, dogs pay

Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Main Street, San Francisco, San Diego, Joe Dog, Dog Beach, Los Angeles, Old West, Exit Highway, Bay Area, Santa Cruz, Tahoe National Forest, Bureau of Land Management, Golden Gate Bridge, Palm Springs, Jake Dog, San Bernardino National Forest, Big Bear Lake, South Lake Tahoe, Open Space, San Jose, Gold Rush, Santa Monica, Sacramento River, Beverly Hills, Long Beach

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

	80% buy the item featured on this page: The Dog Lover's Companion to California: The Inside Scoop on Where to Take Your Dog (Dog Lover's Companion Guides) 4.7 out of 5 stars (32) $22.92
	9% buy The Dog Lover's Companion to the San Francisco Bay Area: The Inside Scoop on Where to Take Your Dog in the Bay Area & Beyond (Dog Lover's Companion Guides) $12.21
	4% buy Best Hikes With Dogs: Southern California 5.0 out of 5 stars (4) $7.18
	4% buy Dogfriendly.com's California and the West Dog Travel Guide 4.2 out of 5 stars (5) $15.80

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Customer Reviews

32 Reviews

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4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(4)
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Average Customer Review

4.7 out of 5 stars (32 customer reviews)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent book if you like to travel with your dog, July 1, 2001

By	Yoshitsune (Planet Earth) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dog Lover's Companion to California (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!

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25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding guide!, June 22, 2002

By	"harfharf" (Central California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Dog Lover's Companion to California: The Inside Scoop on Where to Take Your Dog (Dog Lover's Companion Series) (Paperback)

Excellent writing and near-perfect information make this the only book you need when you explore California with your pooch. Full of maps, restaurant reviews, a wide variety of overnight options, unusual recreational activities, and even historical tidbits, it's more than just a listing of parks for dogs. It's given us great ideas for road trips to new places, and made us excited to revisit old favorites to do things we missed. Very thorough and fun to read--buy it!

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23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Decent book, but not a comprehensive guide, September 8, 2007

By	M. Donnelly (San Jose, CA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars We won't travel without it.
We drove over 2400 miles with our 2 Labrador Retrievers and used this and the "DLC to the Pacific Northwest". Read more

Published 3 months ago by D. J. Wright

5.0 out of 5 stars thank you
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5.0 out of 5 stars If you have a dog and live in California, you need this book!
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5.0 out of 5 stars Great book
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Published on August 10, 2007 by Laura L. Albee

5.0 out of 5 stars For those who can't bear to be away from their dog
Bought this for myself, unfortunately just weeks before deciding to leave California and move to the East! Gave it as a gift to a close dog-lover friend who loved it. Read more

Published on February 18, 2007 by Joy

3.0 out of 5 stars I'm sure it used to be great.
Swell book but WAY out of date. This is the 5th printing but I've been unable to verify that there is any new information since 1993. Read more

Published on August 12, 2006 by Chris Bushman

5.0 out of 5 stars The Dog Lover's Companion To California
The book is wonderful. I really like how the author speaks about the best of the best places to take your dog. Read more

Published on March 18, 2006 by Robyn Kraus

5.0 out of 5 stars she really loves and respects dogs
Who else would write such a dog-centered travel guide! And on far flung counties too. Guide is good for residents and travelers alike. Read more

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