ou are often limited to what you can do throughout the day and always have to adapt your plans around your pets to ensure that they are being looked after or able to cope on their own if you have to go out. Cats are much more self-sufficient, but having a dog is like taking care of another human being for many.

So, you can’t go away for the weekend and leave the dog on its own, and, unless you have a large garden or outside space with shade, even going to the beach in the summer requires a lot of organization beforehand.

But, for those that live in Alicante choosing between taking the dog for a walk or going to the beach for the day is set to become a thing of the past, as the town hall is planning to open the first beach adapted for dogs by the start of next summer.

The location of this new coastal canine playground has not yet been agreed upon, but is a toss-up between the beaches on Urbanova or Cabo Huertas, although, in time, the town hall hopes to use both solely for our four-legged friends.

The scheme is being put together by the Municipal Board of Tourism in collaboration with the Department for the Protection of Animals and is in response to the requests of dog owners who have long been demanding such a service.

Despite the fact that a beach for dogs was inaugurated in El Campello, which didn’t go down well with the municipality’s neighbours, this project is a lot more well thought out and ambitious.

As well as providing services for the dogs’ owners, there are plans to include other installations specifically for the animals themselves, making this dog beach unique in Spain. These would include things like hammocks and parasols for the pets, spaces for food and water containers and an area where the dogs can be tied for a short while.

There will be a bar and shop where owners can buy food and water for their animal, as well as bags in which to collect their excrement, and bins all around the area in which to deposit them.

Of course, there will also be sun loungers, showers and a ‘chiringuito’ for the owners, and all the usual installations you would find on any other beach.

The designers of this project are also studying whether it would be possible to add showers for the animals and an enclosed zone where the dogs can interact with each other.

El Campello, which was inaugurated in 2013, is the only official beach available for dogs during the summer season, although many others in the municipalities of Orihuela, Guardamar and Alicante allow owners to walk their dogs on the beach, but only during the low season.

And, in other parts of Spain, many municipalities have adapted their beaches so that owners can take their dogs to the area, but none of them are as complete as this one that is being planned in Alicante.

Source: www.laverdad.es

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