Articles

Dogs and Moonstone Beach

The land trust is taking an active role this year to educate beach users about how to handle their dogs so that the people who use the beach can get the most out of the experience.

Now that the sunny and warmer days are almost here, popular Moonstone Beach will soon be besieged with mobs of beach goers. Moonstone Beach is one of the more popular beaches in the Trinidad area. The easy access to the beach and Little River as well as the desirable surf bring families, surfers, rock climbers and others to this jewel. And of course, dogs love the beach too, so along with the people, there are often many dogs enjoying the beach. The Humboldt North Coast Land Trust owns an easement on a portion of the Moonstone Beach parking lot. We share these beach access management responsibilities with Humboldt County which owns part of the parking lot, and Sam Merryman also owns part of the property. The land trust is taking an active role this year to educate beach users about how to handle their dogs so that the people who use the beach can get the most out of the experience.

Owning a dog brings a great deal of enjoyment but also carries with it a series of responsibilities. If owners are not aware of these responsibilities then communities can grow to dislike the dogs in their areas and anti-dog attitudes can develop.

The following is what we are requesting of dogs owners when they use Moonstone Beach:

1. Control your dog - If you don't have good voice control over your dog, keep it on a leash.
2. Keep your dog with you - Always know where your dog is and what it is doing. Please don't leave your dog unattended at the beach. If you are out surfing and you left your dog on the beach, obviously your dog is not with you and you cannot control it while you are catching waves.
3. Be courteous to other beach users - Not everyone likes dogs and many people do not appreciate other people's dogs approaching them. Please be sensitive and keep your dog away from people who obviously are not interested in your dog.
4. Pick up after your dog - Dog poop on the beach is a health hazard and gross. Bring a plastic bag with you every time you go out with your dog and make sure you keep an eye on it so you know when it is defecating so you can pick up after it.
5. If you own an aggressive dog, keep it on a leash and away from other dogs and people.
6. Think twice about bringing your dog to the beach if you won't or can't be responsible for it while it you are using the beach.

The other beach goers will really appreciate dog owners cooperation with the requests above. Please take ownership of this beach; it belongs to all of us. If we can just remind each other to do the right thing, everyone can enjoy the beach together and eliminate bad experiences due to irresponsible dog owners.