News

Is Santa Cruz Dog Friendly?

By
• August 6, 2013
Kooper on the cover of the 2013 Santa Cruz County Travelers' Guide.

Kooper on the cover of the 2013 Santa Cruz County Travelers' Guide.

Santa Cruz County prides itself on being a dog-friendly place. In fact, we feature a Rhodesian Ridgeback named Kooper on the cover of this year’s Travelers’ Guide. But it turns out that dogs, even ones who have achieved minor celebrity status, are not welcome in 95 percent of apartments listed in the area, according to Kooper’s owner, local photographer Pascale Wowak.

Wowak is irate about the irony of the situation. “They seek out this large dog to promote Santa Cruz, and yet no one who owns a large dog can rent in this town,” she told us. “He had to behave and cooperate for three hours for that shoot, and then was so amazing that they asked him to come pose for a huge community event a few weeks later. Obviously he’s well-behaved enough to do all this to promote the city.

“Our dog has his very own portfolio with letters from all our neighbors stating how adorable and sweet he is,” said Wowak. She also emailed Mayor Hilary Bryant to ask if she’d write a letter of recommendation for Kooper, but says Bryant never responded (Bryant was unavailable for comment).

But not all hope is lost. Maggie Ivy, CEO of the Santa Cruz County Visitors’ Council, said she was sorry to hear of Wowak’s woes. “That’s a shame. He’s a sweet dog. He was very amiable, and I would certainly give Kooper a reference.”

Melanie Sobel, general manager of the Santa Cruz County Animal Shelter, says the sheer number of local landlords who don’t allow pets is a significant concern. The shelter’s numbers show that 14 percent of animal surrenders are due to landlord issues.

So is the Traveler’s Guide, featuring Kooper blissfully unaware of how he is about to get screwed by the Santa Cruz housing market, false advertising? Not according to Ivy, who says the Travelers’ Guide is intended to reflect the experience of visitors to Santa Cruz, rather than residents.

“The impetus of us putting Kooper on the cover of the Travelers’ Guide was to relay that Santa Cruz County is dog-friendly on many levels,” she says. “We tend to be referencing things like state parks that allow dogs on leashes, hotels that provide dog-friendly lodging, and restaurants that are welcoming pets on their patios.”

  • https://www.santacruz.com/news/2013/08/06/is_santa_cruz_dog_friendly January

    Santa Cruz is one of the least dog friendly places to live and to visit. That’s why as a Santa Cruz County resident, I make a point of avoiding Santa Cruz and instead, I spend nearly all my consumer dollars in dog friendly Santa Clara and Monterey locations. Los Gatos is tops on my list of destinations but Palo Alto and San Jose (Santana Row and Willow Glen) where many smaller merchants provide dog friendly, customer focused service are also great. Those destinations are not only friendlier to decent, law abiding dog loving families like ours, but comparatively devoid of the dangers and other annoyances that plague Santa Cruz County. There is no dog mess on the streets, dogs and their people are generally well mannered and well heeled. Since my dog is welcome virtually everywhere that is sensible to take her, I can pack all my errand going, socializing, exercising and shopping into one trip over the hill or down the coast. In turn, I pump money into (mostly) locally owned businesses elsewhere. Unless or until Santa Cruz wakes up to the fact that they have driven dog owning patrons out of the area, the town and county will miss out on the economic benefits from residents and tourists alike.

  • https://www.santacruz.com/news/is_santa_cruz_dog_friendly.html January

    Santa Cruz is one of the least dog friendly places to live and to visit. That’s why as a Santa Cruz County resident, I make a point of avoiding Santa Cruz and instead, I spend nearly all my consumer dollars in dog friendly Santa Clara and Monterey locations. Los Gatos is tops on my list of destinations but Palo Alto and San Jose (Santana Row and Willow Glen) where many smaller merchants provide dog friendly, customer focused service are also great. Those destinations are not only friendlier to decent, law abiding dog loving families like ours, but comparatively devoid of the dangers and other annoyances that plague Santa Cruz County. There is no dog mess on the streets, dogs and their people are generally well mannered and well heeled. Since my dog is welcome virtually everywhere that is sensible to take her, I can pack all my errand going, socializing, exercising and shopping into one trip over the hill or down the coast. In turn, I pump money into (mostly) locally owned businesses elsewhere. Unless or until Santa Cruz wakes up to the fact that they have driven dog owning patrons out of the area, the town and county will miss out on the economic benefits from residents and tourists alike.

  • https://www.santacruz.com/news/2013/08/06/is_santa_cruz_dog_friendly Judith Broadhurst

    I’ve been a renter all of my life (now in my 60s), all over the country, here for most of 24 years. The only place I’ve lived where renter could have dogs—even small dogs—was New York City, of all places, and one suburban condo in Houston. I live in a cabin on the edge of property that’s mostly a mobile home park, where those who own their mobile homes can have dogs but those who rent our residences cannot—even though those who own their homes also rent the property they’re on, just as I do. To me, it’s partly a class issue, too, because anyone is more likely to be allow to have a dog if they can afford to pay $2500 or more to rent an actual house, with a fenced-in yard.

  • https://www.santacruz.com/news/is_santa_cruz_dog_friendly.html Judith Broadhurst

    I’ve been a renter all of my life (now in my 60s), all over the country, here for most of 24 years. The only place I’ve lived where renter could have dogs—even small dogs—was New York City, of all places, and one suburban condo in Houston. I live in a cabin on the edge of property that’s mostly a mobile home park, where those who own their mobile homes can have dogs but those who rent our residences cannot—even though those who own their homes also rent the property they’re on, just as I do. To me, it’s partly a class issue, too, because anyone is more likely to be allow to have a dog if they can afford to pay $2500 or more to rent an actual house, with a fenced-in yard.

  • https://www.santacruz.com/news/2013/08/06/is_santa_cruz_dog_friendly Kimber Kneeland

    It is really a sad day when the NIMBY’s take over and run this town..I wonder if the landlords are actually local residents…or just money hungry?

  • https://www.santacruz.com/news/is_santa_cruz_dog_friendly.html Kimber Kneeland

    It is really a sad day when the NIMBY’s take over and run this town..I wonder if the landlords are actually local residents…or just money hungry?

  • https://www.santacruz.com/news/2013/08/06/is_santa_cruz_dog_friendly Mike

    If the owners of rental property don’t want to rent to large dog owners, that should be their prerogative. The damage that a large or small dog can do to a property is real. Just because your dog can behave for a 3 hour photo-shoot does not mean he won’t do any damage to a rental property. A lot of landlords have been burned because the security deposit does not cover all of the damage that a pet can do. P.S.  Adorable and sweet dogs do damage too.

  • https://www.santacruz.com/news/is_santa_cruz_dog_friendly.html Mike

    If the owners of rental property don’t want to rent to large dog owners, that should be their prerogative. The damage that a large or small dog can do to a property is real. Just because your dog can behave for a 3 hour photo-shoot does not mean he won’t do any damage to a rental property. A lot of landlords have been burned because the security deposit does not cover all of the damage that a pet can do. P.S.  Adorable and sweet dogs do damage too.

  • https://www.santacruz.com/news/2013/08/06/is_santa_cruz_dog_friendly Claire

    Couldn’t agree more with Pascale!  I have had a horrible time finding an apartment that would allow my extremely well behaved Black Lab.  When I moved here, I paid higher than market rates AND pet rent for the privilege.  Now that rents have going up again, I can’t ever move because I can’t find anything that allows pets in town that costs the same or less than my current place.  I could understand breed restrictions, but no pets at all?  Landlords lose out on a lot of responsible tenants this way.  Those places go to college students instead, who I’m sure do a lot more damage than my dog would!

  • https://www.santacruz.com/news/is_santa_cruz_dog_friendly.html Claire

    Couldn’t agree more with Pascale!  I have had a horrible time finding an apartment that would allow my extremely well behaved Black Lab.  When I moved here, I paid higher than market rates AND pet rent for the privilege.  Now that rents have going up again, I can’t ever move because I can’t find anything that allows pets in town that costs the same or less than my current place.  I could understand breed restrictions, but no pets at all?  Landlords lose out on a lot of responsible tenants this way.  Those places go to college students instead, who I’m sure do a lot more damage than my dog would!

  • https://www.santacruz.com/news/2013/08/06/is_santa_cruz_dog_friendly CJ

    I love Santa Cruz and I love dogs. While there are several dog-friendly businesses in the county and we have a some decent dog parks, I find Santa Cruz average, at best, in the dog-welcoming department. Granted, this publication’s audience is visitors, not residents, and therefore not wholly misadvertising by putting a big dog on the cover. However, visitors’ options of where and what they may do without having to leave the dog at the hotel or at home seem to me far more restricted than in many other communities where I’ve lived or visited.

    On a scale of one to ten, five being average for American communities in general, I would rate Santa Cruz as follows.

    Large dogs (visiting): 4
    Small dogs (visiting): 5
    Large dogs (resident/rent): 2
    Small dogs (resident/rent): 4
    All dogs (resident/own): 4

    Why do I rate Santa Cruz poorly? Most pet-friendly communities have made far greater improvements at accommodating dogs in public places than the Santa Cruz communities. A couple of additional chain hotels admitting dogs with added fees and finally rescinding a few of the several bans of canines in public areas do not constitute a gain relative to other tourist destinations. Given that a significant proportion of Santa Cruz area tourists also live in the Greater Bay Area, we should at the very least be comparing our dog-friendliness to that of our region at-large, the source and competition of our day and weekend tourists. One can roam Santa Cruz all day and never see a dog, yet San Francisco teems with pooches. Santa Cruz County earned its reputation for being dog-unfriendly; and we have improved unsatisfactorily to challenge said unfortunate reputation.

  • https://www.santacruz.com/news/is_santa_cruz_dog_friendly.html CJ

    I love Santa Cruz and I love dogs. While there are several dog-friendly businesses in the county and we have a some decent dog parks, I find Santa Cruz average, at best, in the dog-welcoming department. Granted, this publication’s audience is visitors, not residents, and therefore not wholly misadvertising by putting a big dog on the cover. However, visitors’ options of where and what they may do without having to leave the dog at the hotel or at home seem to me far more restricted than in many other communities where I’ve lived or visited.

    On a scale of one to ten, five being average for American communities in general, I would rate Santa Cruz as follows.

    Large dogs (visiting): 4
    Small dogs (visiting): 5
    Large dogs (resident/rent): 2
    Small dogs (resident/rent): 4
    All dogs (resident/own): 4

    Why do I rate Santa Cruz poorly? Most pet-friendly communities have made far greater improvements at accommodating dogs in public places than the Santa Cruz communities. A couple of additional chain hotels admitting dogs with added fees and finally rescinding a few of the several bans of canines in public areas do not constitute a gain relative to other tourist destinations. Given that a significant proportion of Santa Cruz area tourists also live in the Greater Bay Area, we should at the very least be comparing our dog-friendliness to that of our region at-large, the source and competition of our day and weekend tourists. One can roam Santa Cruz all day and never see a dog, yet San Francisco teems with pooches. Santa Cruz County earned its reputation for being dog-unfriendly; and we have improved unsatisfactorily to challenge said unfortunate reputation.

  • https://www.santacruz.com/news/2013/08/06/is_santa_cruz_dog_friendly Pascale Wowak

    As a note to Mike, I can assure you that my dog is the least destructive canine you will ever meet.  Because I’m a responsible dog owner who walks him twice a day he spend the entirety of the day sleeping.  I clean up after him, exercise him, feed him and give him all the attention he needs which results in a well behaved, secure, sweet, docile, quiet, non destructive dog.  I completely agree that it should be a land owner’s prerogative whether or not they want to rent to a dog owner.  In my interview with the SC WEEKLY I made a point to focus on a way to bridge the current gap between dog owner tenants and landlords.  The solution I offered up was that landlords could put a single line in their listings saying:  Responsible dog owner(s) and their dogs can submit additional application and portfolio for CONSIDERATION.  This leaves the door open for those responsible, attentive, considerate and reliable dog owners to assemble a well established trail of documentation and letters of recommendation in support of their pet.  Those dog owners who are truly willing to go the extra mile to show how responsible they are and how well behaved their dogs are will be grateful for the opportunity to show a potential landlord how great a tenant they will be.  I have done amazing things to increase the property value of my current rental, including fixing all the cabinets inside the cottage and TOTALLY relandscaping the front and backyards, all on my own dime.  I will be leaving this rental cottage in ten times better condition than when my children, my dog and I moved in.  All I am asking is that landlords be more open minded and at least willing to CONSIDER pet owners.  Let the onus be the pet owner to prove they are worthy but at least leave that option open for consideration.  You can always say no!  But give me a chance.  Meet me, my dog and my kids.  Let me show you pictures of everything I’ve done to my current rental to make it amazing and fix it up.  Let me show you letters from all our neighbors stating how our dog never barks, never causes damage, how I clean up my dog’s poop and walk him twice a day.  How my children are quiet and well behaved.  Give me the opportunity to show this to you.  That is the essence of what I am trying to relay here.  All I ask is that landlords be open to the large section of truly responsible, respectful and reliable dog owners who exist in this town and who are completely unable to find any kind of affordable, dog friendly housing.  I was a home owner for 10 years in this town before my divorce.  I know how to respect property and have a deep appreciation for making a home a home and treating it as such.  I just want to rebuild some roots in a new home in this town for my children and I.  I’m more than willing to put my heart and soul into fixing up a nice, safe, long term rental.  I just can’t find one that will let us have our dog who is a beloved member of our family.  I think that’s pretty tragically sad.  Thank you to all of you who have shown your support and/or experienced the same challenges in SC county trying to find safe, affordable housing as a pet owner.  It’s a shame and it doesn’t have to be this way.  There are ways find a middle ground and come to a mutual understanding and find solutions by connecting those landlords with REALLY GREAT tenants, if you’re willing to just change your preconceived notions about dogs.  Not all dogs are destructive.  Not all dogs bark relentlessly.  Not all dog owners are unable to meet their dog’s needs.  Many of us are pretty darn amazing folks!

  • https://www.santacruz.com/news/is_santa_cruz_dog_friendly.html Pascale Wowak

    As a note to Mike, I can assure you that my dog is the least destructive canine you will ever meet.  Because I’m a responsible dog owner who walks him twice a day he spend the entirety of the day sleeping.  I clean up after him, exercise him, feed him and give him all the attention he needs which results in a well behaved, secure, sweet, docile, quiet, non destructive dog.  I completely agree that it should be a land owner’s prerogative whether or not they want to rent to a dog owner.  In my interview with the SC WEEKLY I made a point to focus on a way to bridge the current gap between dog owner tenants and landlords.  The solution I offered up was that landlords could put a single line in their listings saying:  Responsible dog owner(s) and their dogs can submit additional application and portfolio for CONSIDERATION.  This leaves the door open for those responsible, attentive, considerate and reliable dog owners to assemble a well established trail of documentation and letters of recommendation in support of their pet.  Those dog owners who are truly willing to go the extra mile to show how responsible they are and how well behaved their dogs are will be grateful for the opportunity to show a potential landlord how great a tenant they will be.  I have done amazing things to increase the property value of my current rental, including fixing all the cabinets inside the cottage and TOTALLY relandscaping the front and backyards, all on my own dime.  I will be leaving this rental cottage in ten times better condition than when my children, my dog and I moved in.  All I am asking is that landlords be more open minded and at least willing to CONSIDER pet owners.  Let the onus be the pet owner to prove they are worthy but at least leave that option open for consideration.  You can always say no!  But give me a chance.  Meet me, my dog and my kids.  Let me show you pictures of everything I’ve done to my current rental to make it amazing and fix it up.  Let me show you letters from all our neighbors stating how our dog never barks, never causes damage, how I clean up my dog’s poop and walk him twice a day.  How my children are quiet and well behaved.  Give me the opportunity to show this to you.  That is the essence of what I am trying to relay here.  All I ask is that landlords be open to the large section of truly responsible, respectful and reliable dog owners who exist in this town and who are completely unable to find any kind of affordable, dog friendly housing.  I was a home owner for 10 years in this town before my divorce.  I know how to respect property and have a deep appreciation for making a home a home and treating it as such.  I just want to rebuild some roots in a new home in this town for my children and I.  I’m more than willing to put my heart and soul into fixing up a nice, safe, long term rental.  I just can’t find one that will let us have our dog who is a beloved member of our family.  I think that’s pretty tragically sad.  Thank you to all of you who have shown your support and/or experienced the same challenges in SC county trying to find safe, affordable housing as a pet owner.  It’s a shame and it doesn’t have to be this way.  There are ways find a middle ground and come to a mutual understanding and find solutions by connecting those landlords with REALLY GREAT tenants, if you’re willing to just change your preconceived notions about dogs.  Not all dogs are destructive.  Not all dogs bark relentlessly.  Not all dog owners are unable to meet their dog’s needs.  Many of us are pretty darn amazing folks!

  • https://www.santacruz.com/news/2013/08/06/is_santa_cruz_dog_friendly Ryan

    Great article! My wife and I are driving up the coast this weekend and we are bringing our dog and from what my research tells me there are some cities in fact that are really not dog friendly. We werent sure if we would need to find an indoor dog park</a> or something else? Thanks again! Any recommendations as to what to see and where to go while in Santa Cruz?

  • https://www.santacruz.com/news/is_santa_cruz_dog_friendly.html Ryan

    Great article! My wife and I are driving up the coast this weekend and we are bringing our dog and from what my research tells me there are some cities in fact that are really not dog friendly. We werent sure if we would need to find an indoor dog park</a> or something else? Thanks again! Any recommendations as to what to see and where to go while in Santa Cruz?