Tag Archives: dogs

Puppies, live music, and beer — Boneyard indoor dog park and tavern coming to the Central District

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Dogs love beer including this good one we spotted at Chuck’s (Image: CHS)

The Central Seattle dog park experience is about to change with the addition of Boneyard, an indoor dog park and tavern set to join S Jackson.

Dagmar Rehse, dog lover and Boneyard owner, wanted to create a way for Seattleites and their furry friends to spend and enjoy time together away from their homes — even when it is raining cats and dogs in the city.

“Nine months out of the year you see these dog owners going to dog parks and suffering in the elements to let their dogs play,” Rehse said. “I wanted to create something more comfortable for the humans while their dogs are frolicking around.”

The new space at the corner of 26th and Jackson will be an indoor dog park and tavern, with boarding and doggy daycare for the dogs, and a bar for their owners to play “drink” at. While Rehse doesn’t live in the area, she did notice that the dog friendly neighborhood was missing this kind of hangout. It is also in an area beyond the higher rent neighborhood cores where the rent on a 3,267-square-foot space needed to give rover room to run pencils out.

And while there are many dog-friendly drinking venues around the Central District and Capitol Hill, the Boneyard is the only one centered on making a great, safe space for canine companions. It will also offer something no other beer hall around can offer — fur baby babysitting for dog owners who want a break while they crack a cold one.

Boneyard will be the first space that Rehse has opened, built by her love for dogs and a wish for a place where dog and owner can enjoy themselves together outside of their home. Continue reading →

Central District’s Powell Barnett Park makes short list as Seattle finally ready to add two new off-leash dog areas

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At the E Cherry “pop-up” dog park

The Central District’s Powell Barnett Park has made the short list for much-awaited new off-leash dog areas in Seattle.

The MLK Way park is the only District 3 location to make the list of nine final sites being considered after years of process by Seattle Parks. The final candidates joining Powell Barnett on the list include the Discovery Park North Parking Lot, View Ridge Playfield, East Queen Anne Playground, Ravenna Park, West Seattle Stadium, Brighton Playfield, Lincoln Park, and Othello Park.

CHS reported here on the high demand for Capitol Hill dog families that has turned Cal Anderson and Volunteer Park into sometimes rogue off-leash areas and the long process from the city to study and designate new sites. CHS also found one Central District dog park opened on the down low by an area developer on property awaiting future construction.

The parks department says the Powell Barnett site would be the lawn area on the north end of the park near its Play Area, Comfort Station, Basketball Court, and Wading Pool. Continue reading →

With Cal Anderson and Volunteer ‘de facto’ dog parks, Seattle taking its doggone time creating new off-leash areas

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Dogs at play at a community created dog park in the Central District

If venturing to Cal Anderson or Volunteer Park, one can expect to see dogs off leash roaming freely with their furry friends. However joyous those games of fetch and chase may seem, the city has been cracking down and ticketing owners for having their fur babies off leash.

“It continues to be against park code to have your dog off leash outside of an OLA [off leash area] and there is an animal enforcement team that issues tickets for infractions,” said Rachel Schulkin, director of public affairs for Seattle Parks and Recreation.

Yes, Cal Anderson is getting renewed energy and planning around making it a safer, cleaner community space. And, yes, they are rebuilding the play area for human kids. But what about the fur kids?

Multifamily housing developer, dog owner, and long-time Seattle resident Benjamin Maritz has a unique perspective on the issue. Martiz lives near Volunteer Park and works in affordable housing around Capitol Hill and the Central District. He likes to walk his poodle mixes in Volunteer and Cal Anderson.

“Both of these places are very much de facto off leash dog parks, and I’ve let my dogs off leash—especially when there are enough other dogs off leash to where it’s operating as an off leash dog park,” Maritz said. “I don’t ever see any issues. Occasionally, the dogs will share the space with some folks playing rugby or soccer.”

What sets Maritz and his poodle apart from other Hill area dog families is the developer had some land available to try to do something about the lack of off-leash space, and opened a community site on some currently underutilized property. Continue reading →

Former Capitol Hill Arts Center below Velocity Dance going back into motion with Tails of the City dog daycare

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(Image: Tails of the City)

Mostly inactive since the final days of the Capitol Hill Arts Center more than a decade ago, the area beneath Velocity Dance Center’s 12th Ave building will be swirling back into motion with more energy than even the curl ups and tendus going on upstairs.

Tails of the City, a longtime Georgetown doggy daycare, is expanding with a second Seattle location in the basement of the 1600-block 12th Ave building — a huge space that will provide room for the business to add a highly demanded new service: dog boarding.

“This space used to host raves and parties. I toyed with idea of making an area so people can watch,” Karyn Johnson tells CHS. Sorry to report, Johnson said the doggy bar just wouldn’t work out. And, yes, that’s the second time you can be disappointed about that. Continue reading →

‘All Dogs Must be Leashed’ — Overrun by naughty off-leash visitors (and their dogs), Seattle U changes policy

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Picture from a CHS reader. Thanks for the picture and tip!

It costs Seattle U students $45,765 a year to attend the south of Capitol Hill campus but many neighborhood dogs have been freely enjoying the fields of academia — off leash.

But now the school and its popular Union Green, one of Capitol Hill’s most popular “secret” off-leash play areas, is off-limits. Seattle University has changed its policies and now requires all canine visitors to be leashed:

“For the safety and wellbeing of our campus community and all visitors, dogs are now required to be on leash and under control of their owners at all times while on campus,” the university announcement reads. “This policy is consistent with the City of Seattle’s leash laws.” Continue reading →

‘High tech dog houses’ where you can park your pup coming to Capitol Hill

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(Image: DogSpot)

For the first time in 50 years, Seattle has more than 100,000 children. But we all know there are way more fur babies on Capitol Hill.

If it comes to being the most dog-friendly city in the US, Seattle is top dog. That’s according to real estate broker Redfin and Rover, the Uber for dog sitters and walkers. The companies compiled a list of cities with the highest amounts of dog walkers, sitters and walks, and combined the data with the amount of home sale listings that mention “dog”. Both Seattle-based companies announced that their hometown was the number 1 dog-friendly city. Chicago and Denver came in second and third.

Brooklyn-based company DogSpot has come to the same conclusion: People in Seattle love dogs (and walking them). Next month, the company will install six high tech dog houses — to leave Fido in while shopping — in the Seattle area, including on the Hill, in a partnership with supermarket chain QFC.

“Seattle’s a tech-friendly and dog-obsessed city,” says Rebecca Eyre, director of communications at DogSpot. “Those things make it an amazing market for us.” Continue reading →

Rethinking the Capitol Hill Pac-Man pavement park

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Kim’s picture of the Pac-man pocket park from the Capitol Hill Seattle Facebook Group

The latest discussion in the Capitol Hill Seattle Facebook Group brings together many themes familiar to readers of CHS — public space, parks and p-patches, homelessness… and dogs.

Kim posted this image of the E Olive Way at Summit at Denny Pac-Man pocket park and raises a valid issue — what use is a pocket park if nobody uses it? “I pass this sad scene every day and have never seen anything suggestive of added value going on there,” she writes. “Would make a great pea patch or dog park with a little investment.” Continue reading →

Downtown Dog Lounge leaving Capitol Hill

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Just as the plans for Capitol Hill’s first cat cafe are finally taking shape, one of its longest running canine-focused businesses is getting ready to move out.

The Downtown Dog Lounge has been getting its furry clients ready for the big change on E Denny Way for a while now but officially announced its planned departure this week after 10 years on Capitol Hill: Continue reading →

Advocate group looks for Capitol Hill support for more off-leash dog parks

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(Image: City of Seattle)

(Image: City of Seattle)

The forecast this week calls for the dog days of summer, but dogs in Seattle don’t have many options for relief from the heat.

Dogs are only allowed to swim at Magnuson Park, which has 145 feet of shoreline.

Citizens for Off-Leash Areas, or COLA, wants to change that. The group wants more waterfront parks open to dogs and more off-leash options in general that are within walking distance of every dog owner. Organizers see it as much more than an issue of play and lakeside fun. COLA reps say resources for dog owners are a social justice issue in a city supposedly tackling equity issues across its neighborhoods. Meanwhile, Seattle’s population is set to soar to 750,000 by 2020. About one out of three of the new residents will bring dogs. Continue reading →

Eastlake seeks ideas to make the I-5 Colonnade weirder and more useful

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Fremont may have Seattle’s most well known bridge underpass, but Eastlake’s Colonnade Open Space under I-5 is more useful, impressive, and even weirder than hordes of tourists crawling over a troll.

Opened in 2005, the Colonnade is now in need of some work and the Eastlake Community Council wants input on how the park should be improved and expanded. An introductory public meeting on the project will be held Thursday night at 6:30 PM at the Agora Conference Center.

Located under I-5 along Lakeview Blvd. E, the Colonnade includes an off-leash dog park, pedestrian walkways, and an award winning mountain bike park. The Eastlake Community Council, which was responsible for obtaining the initial funds to open the space in 2005, has already kicked around some ideas for improvements to the park:

  • Adding new paths and sidewalks to improve access through the park.
  • Adding a skate bowl and ramps
  • Improved trail surfacing and bike themed art
  • An agility course for dogs with “paw-friendly” surfacing and dog themed art
(Image: City of Seattle)

(Image: City of Seattle)

Improving pedestrian and bike connections from the park to Capitol Hill was also cited as part of a study completed by the community council in 2012.

At its south end, the study suggests that Colonnade park needs a stairway up to Lakeview Blvd., a trail south to the intersection of Eastlake Ave. and E. Aloha Street, and a trail southwest to the intersection of Franklin Ave. E. and E. Galer St. It also suggests that on the WSDOT land between E. Galer and E. Nelson streets that connects Colonnade with Eastlake Avenue, there could be steps and a switchback trail, and in the sunny upper elevation above the trees, possibly P-Patch plots to address the citywide shortage.

To learn more about the project and how to get involved, visit eastlakeseattle.org