One of the best beaches in the lower keys for dogs is on Boca Chica Key. Down the road next to the Shell filling station on Big Coppitt Key is a long stretch of beach behind the Naval Air Station. It isn't a typical Florida beach. There's a lot of seaweed and very little exposed sand, but the water is shallow and the waves are gentle. It's best to arrive early in the morning, especially during "season" as it can become rather busy with dogs running off lead and people hanging out at the beach. We choose a Sunday morning for Zuzu and Tootie's first beach experience. The weather was on the cool side, as it has been for most of the winter in the Keys, the water was blue and calm, and we had the beach to ourselves.
Not feeling completely confident that Zuzu and Tootie won't stay near if they were off lead, we kept them on flexi leads giving them 20 feet of room to explore. Zuzu quickly took the lead. She's our explorer, adventurer, and hunter. Tootie was content to bring up the rear and follow her sister's lead.
There were a lot of new smells. Some more odiferous than others. And there were some new strange sights, too. Zuzu was excited to see the shore birds...if only she could run out to get them in the water, but that would mean tromping IN the water. Zuzu's not quite ready for that, yet.
All in all, they had a great time. They met some other dogs. One was a female blue weimaraner who had boundless energy. She only stopped for a second to say hello to our girls before running off down the beach in search of hidden treasure.
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