We most often letterbox with our little Westie, Kirby so we are very interested in looking for boxes that have the "Dogs Allowed" icon. We are now traveling further from home to letterbox and we get worried that we will arrive at a park or other location with Kirby only to find that no dogs are allowed. If I see a clue that has the "dog icon" I know for sure we can take him. But, if I don't see the icon, I sometimes wonder if it means that the doggie icon was simply forgotten or if it truly is not a dog-friendly location. Having a "No Dogs Allowed" icon would certainly make it clear.

I know the icons are generally of a positive nature, but if dogs are truly not allowed, it would be nice to know that as well before we head out for a 50 mile ride, especially at today's gas prices.

Just to be clear, if we did find a location that was not dog friendly and we had Kirby with us, we would not leave him in the car! We would look for other boxes in the area if possible, or head home. But he really hates it when he misses out on a chance to chase muggles!

Just a suggestion!

Great name for a dog!

In my experience I don't even trust the dog icon... I have posted before about this but basically, people who don't have dogs generally don't really care one way or the other about the icon or worse, guess that "it is a park so they should be" even when there is a "No Dogs Allowed" sign or line worked into the park rules. If you don't have dogs, you don't notice signs like that anyway, I know I never did...

So yes, as a dog owner, knowing where they are NOT allowed is more useful than knowing a place is dog friendly as I generally assume parks and greenways are, ball fields and nature preserves are not.

We usually will try to google the location or even call the town hall to check ahead of showing up if it is a trek to the box

We had a dog that I always said I should have named Kirby - Partly because I wanted the dog so it could clean up the floor after dinner because I was sooo sick of vacuuming rice etc...off the floor every meal when the kids were little :)

Oh, and the icon would be helpful to us too as we are just starting to box with our dog Cole :) But I agree that it won't necessarily be reliable as it would be up to the planter/owner to select the icon and not everyone would think to do that.

He was originally going to be named "Frisco" after one of our favorite towns in OBX, but then I saw the Westie Beanie Baby which was named Kirby and I thought it fit better. His puppy pictures look just like the Beanie Baby! Of course, he also answers to "Kirby, the devil dog"! He got that name after he chewed up a couch, the rungs from 4 dining room chairs and two winter coats - one belonging to my sister! We got him a personal trainer and after 12 days at "boot camp" and 4 weeks of working with the trainer at our house, he has been perfect and extremely well behaved! The jury is still out on whether we got the same dog back, but I think I'm pretty sure. They did a great job with him! He is our constant companion when we letterbox.

Mini Mouse

So yes, as a dog owner, knowing where they are NOT allowed is more useful than knowing a place is dog friendly as I generally assume parks and greenways are, ball fields and nature preserves are not.

We went to a park in North Port last month that didn't have the dog icon. It sounded like a really nice park and was close to the interstate so we went anyway. The picture of an alligator on the clue page should have convinced us to trust the lack of an icon. Also, it was an environmental park.

In my experience I don't even trust the dog icon...

We then stopped by a park in Sarasota to get two boxes. One set of clues had the dog icon and the other didn't. We assumed dogs were allowed........NOT.

I checked the park's website and dogs weren't mentioned. The county website had a list of their 14 parks and lots of icons showing what was available/allowed at each one. Only three parks allowed dogs. The owner of the box updated the clues to remove the icon. Thanks!

If you are traveling through GA with a dog, Stone Mountain Park allows them but only about 1/4 of the clues have the dog icon. Callaway Gardens also allows dogs and half of the clues have the dog icon.

Someone mentioned having two icons, one for dogs definitely allowed and the other for dogs definitely not allowed. If you don't know, don't pick either one.

If you are traveling through GA with a dog, Stone Mountain Park allows them but only about 1/4 of the clues have the dog icon. Callaway Gardens also allows dogs and half of the clues have the dog icon.

Yes and no. At SMP not on the actual mountain or in the Songbird area. At Callaway, not near the raptor show (forget the details on that one) so sometimes the same park can have multiple answers if the planter is aware.

At Callaway, not near the raptor show

True. I forgot about that.

We went to the raptor show in January and left Scooter and Chipper in the RV. One of the birds (can't remember which one, maybe the vulture) actually walks up and down the aisle at one point and having a dog there would not be a good idea. Mine are little white Bichons. Neither the birds nor the dogs would be happy being so close to each other.

At SMP not on the actual mountain or in the Songbird area.

I remember one time when we were at SMP Scooters Dad went to the top to get a box while Scooter and I looked for one near the carving. A long time ago dogs used to be allowed on the walk up trail.

Also, they can't go in any buildings at either place.

Neither the birds nor the dogs would be happy being so close to each other.

At the birds of prey show at our ren faire, they say it's because the larger birds look upon the smaller dogs as, well, lunch. The dog owners then get upset, for some reason. So to be fair to all pet owners, they have to ban all animals.

Romana

Understandable. Mine could look like little white bunnies from above.

We stopped at a very nice park in Simpsonville SC this afternoon. No dog icon. Went to the website and no mention either way. It did mention miles of trails. Big sign at the entrance No Dogs. The letterbox was a drive by. Hopped out of the RV, got the box, and back on the road.

No dog icon. Went to the website and no mention either way. It did mention miles of trails. Big sign at the entrance No Dogs. The letterbox was a drive by. Hopped out of the RV, got the box, and back on the road.

OK, people, how do we consider that? The park clearly doesn't allow dogs, but the box is a drive-by, the dog can presumably stay in the car while you grab the box. If you apply a "No Dogs" icon (presuming we had one), that would tell me that if you have a dog along you won't be able to hunt this box. But you CAN hunt this box, it's a drive-by. So, icon or no icon?

I forgot to mention that we plan our stops around places to walk Scooter and Chipper. I try to pick places in advance where we can combine stretch breaks or lunch and boxing.

I'd go with the "no dog" icon if dogs are not allowed even on drive bys. Most drive bys are close enough to the car where it's not a problem if that's the only reason to go there.

But you CAN hunt this box, it's a drive-by. So, icon or no icon?

I'd go with leaving the icon off but put more details in the clue. That way you can let them know that dogs aren't allowed in the park, but it is close enough that you can find it and leave the dog in the car.