San Clemente surfers fear “dog nuggets” in lineup after city agrees to a six-month dog beach trial

"Dogs like to pee on top of other pee, so we'll have a pile of pee and we don't get a lot of rain..."

Do you have thoughts, either way, when it comes to dogs being allowed at the beach? There are those, I’ve noticed, who feel it is a civil right for man’s best friend to be allowed the pleasures of sand and surf and become wildly infuriated when it is even suggested that their beloved creatures don’t belong. Then there are those who despise the nuisance and hassle, the yipping and the yapping, and make sure to vote “no dogs on the beach” candidates into city councils each year.

Well, San Clemente, California is right in the middle of a nasty fight betwixt the above two but, like wise Solomon of old, that city council has delineated a possible way forward.

A six-month trial was approved, just this week, that will allow the furry set onto the beach in a special area just south of T-Street, though with very strict rules. Dog owners can bring mutts between the hours of 6 and 8am then again after 6pm on Monday through Thursday. Only between 6 and 8am on Friday and no weekend play.

Leashes are required at all times.

City Council Speaker Amanda Quintanilla, maybe anti-dog beach, worried out loud that the city already has troubles with water quality, having landed recently on Heal the Bay’s “bummer list.”

“There’s concern if people don’t pick up their dog’s nuggets, this will cause a problem and the state will come down and we have to be compliant,” she said.

Resident Ken Poczekaj wholeheartedly agreed, adding, “When in comes to a dog beach, from a health standpoint, dogs pee on all corners of everything. They like to pee on top of other pee, so we’ll have a pile of pee and we don’t get a lot of rain, so that will not get washed away, so it will stay in the sand.”

T-Street, as you know, is the favorite wave on young San Clemente up-and-coming rippers and their doting must be extra-stressed about the nuggets and pee piles as not one person voiced support for the plan.

Anyway, thoughts?

Pro or anti dog beaches?