By Kevin Katz Venice
This year I made a donation to Heal the Bay. Although this is by no means one of its largest contributions, it is sizable for me. In fact, it is the largest charitable donation that I have ever made to any one organization. I am an avid sea kayaker and have been for 15 years, spending what little vacation time I have paddling out to and around the Channel Islands. The Santa Monica Bay is my training ground and I paddle here every weekend here year round.
I feel that Heal the Bay is a wonderful and necessary organization that I hope to support any way that I can for many years to come.
Recently I have been informed about Heal the Bay’s stance against AB 359 — the proposed dog beach pilot program at Dockweiler.
My mother always says that we have to choose our battles. I don’t think that this is one that Heal the Bay should fight. In addition to my love of kayaking, I am also a responsible dog owner who loves my pet and enjoys sharing time with her on the beach. I have driven all the way to Orange County to take my dog to the beach. This is not a very environmentally responsible use of a car, but I have few other options.
My experience at the Huntington Beach Dog Beach has been a good one and I cannot say that I have ever seen dog feces on the beach there. I am aware that not all dog owners are responsible, however there are other owners who pick up the slack, so to speak.
A dog beach at Dockweiler seems to me like a great idea and I am sure that there are other Heal the Bay members who feel the same. I am not asking that all beaches be open to dogs, but I do feel that there should be at least one in the Santa Monica Bay so the dog owners need not drive excessive distances to spend some quality beach time with their “best friend.” You will find that there are also many volunteers who are more than willing to make sure that the beach at Dockweiler stays clean.
I think that there are much bigger battles to be fought against developers along the coast who are ruining what is left of our undeveloped stretches of beach line in Los Angeles, Malibu and Ventura, or against industrial polluters or even the use of streets, alleys and storm drains as toilets by LA’s homeless population. If you walk into a Home Depot and see the walls of pesticides and fertilizers, paint thinners and solvents that are undoubtedly being used irresponsibly and are ending up in the Bay, there is a battle to be fought, albeit a tough one.
I am asking that Heal the Bay reconsider its stance against dog beaches.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on July 4, 2005. Read the original PDF.