The California Dog Lover's Companion | 
 enlarge | Author: Maria Goodavage
Creator: Phil Frank
Publisher: Foghorn Pr
Category: Book
List Price: $19.95
Buy Used: $0.01
You Save: $19.94 (100%)
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Rating:  30 reviews
Sales Rank: 2236195
Media: Paperback
Edition: 96-97
Pages: 718
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.7
Dimensions (in): 8.3 x 5.3 x 1.6
ISBN: 1573540013
Dewey Decimal Number: 917.940453
EAN: 9781573540018
ASIN: 1573540013
Publication Date: April 1996
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Millions of satisfied customers and climbing. Thriftbooks is the name you can trust, guaranteed. Spend Less. Read More.
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Product Description
More than 50,000 copies have been sold of this original, best-selling guide for dogs and their people. The fourth edition reveals the state's best lakes for swimming, beaches for romping, leash-free parks for playing, and cafes for snacking, as well as hundreds of dog-friendly restaurants and hotels. Award-winning author Maria Goodavage and her canine assistant Joe leave no bone unturned in their search for the doggone best the Golden State has to offer. Also included are easy-to-use maps, helpful hints on doggy do's and don'ts, and witty illustrations by celebrated San Francisco Chronicle cartoonist Phil Frank. "An invaluable guide." -- Dog Fancy Magazine
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| Customer Reviews: Read 25 more reviews...
 spoiled shelties November 15, 2008
Sheltie Mom (KS)
This is a great book. It is well worth the money and you could probably get by with just this book when traveling in California.
I wish this author would start traveling all over the country so I could buy thier book for other areas.
I've got MANY books for traveling with our dogs and this is one of the best.
A must have for dogs who love to travel (and their owners) September 8, 2008
David M. Marshall (Livermore Valley, CA)
Very through and informative. The author's style is very energetic and playful (much like a happy dog). So far all of the recommendations have been right on the mark and we have never been disappointed with a review.
 Decent book, but not a comprehensive guide September 8, 2007
M. Donnelly (San Jose, CA)
16 out of 16 found this review helpful
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.
If you have a dog and live in California, you need this book! August 11, 2007
N. Price (Bay Area, Northern CA)
My dog loves to go places with me. A walk is his all time favorite, and he's always ready to jump in the car and just go -- I swear he knows the new from the old and always gets excited no matter what. Well, I had just about run out of new places to go with him and was starting to get a little bored when I heard about this book. It has opened up our world even more, and in doing so gave me the confidence to explore more with my best friend.
Great book August 10, 2007
Laura L. Albee (sacramento, ca)
This is definately a book for the car or in my case, my dog's luggage!!! I found a bunch of parks in my area alone I didn't even know were there! I bought this because we take my dog everywhere and I wanted new places to go. This also covers areas where the Bay Area book stops. I even ended up sharing some parks with my friends who have dogs.
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