West Seattle Thursday: Anniversaries, authors, and more

(Wednesday night Alki photo by Aaron Bocchetti, who happened onto a championship Chesapeake Bay Golden Retriever in action)
From the WSB West Seattle Events calendar: Two shopping events in The Junction tonight – CAPERS‘ 25th anniversary and Sweetie‘s 7th (details on The Junction website) … Seattle teen authors Phoebe Kitanidis and Kimberly Derting will be at Southwest Library at 6:30 tonight for readings and autographs, and Square 1 Books (WSB sponsor) will be selling books … Also at SW Library, get your readers started early – it’s Toddler Story Time, 11 am (details here) … On the meeting list tonight: The new Community Advisory Group for the Murray (Lowman Beach) CSO project, coming off Saturday’s all-day technical-information session (agenda here), meets at The Hall at Fauntleroy, 6 pm … The South Delridge/White Center Community Safety Coalition talks crimefighting and more at 6 pm at the White Center DSHS office … and the city Parks Board meets at Parks HQ downtown, 6 pm – with the latest budget talk. (Oh, and the dessert truck.)

44 Replies to "West Seattle Thursday: Anniversaries, authors, and more"

  • mrsB June 24, 2010 (9:27 am)

    Was this beautiful dog’s owner cited for allowing his dog onto the beach at a Seattle public park? yes it’s a great photo but nevertheless, dogs aren’t allowed on public beaches, whether at high tide or low….

  • Bender June 24, 2010 (9:45 am)

    Great—another off leash dog on the beach. “Look at my baby! He’s so happy and he’s super-friendly. Surely the laws don’t apply to my widdle guy.”

  • Alki Resident June 24, 2010 (9:49 am)

    I wish I could see more dogs running into the water like this,they love it.Great photo Bender.Im glad to not have MrsB at my gatherings,something tells me she’d ruin all the fun.

  • austin June 24, 2010 (9:52 am)

    Don’t look at the dog as another illegal on the beach – look at it as potential profit for your dog leashing business! Rates are double on the beach!

  • Bender June 24, 2010 (9:55 am)

    I’d ruin it too. I’m agreeing with her.

  • LMA June 24, 2010 (10:02 am)

    Wow what fun!

  • westseattledood June 24, 2010 (10:03 am)

    Yeah – way illegal, so not a good choice to show off the dog’s air skills, obviously. There are far more appropriate, wonderful locations to take dogs swimming for romps on beaches in the metro area. There are even dog care services to provide legal, safe conditioning and wading adventures. soundDogswims.com, for example. ;)

    But aside from the lack of judgment, THAT is a DOCK DOG! And dock dogs ROCK when they are allowed to do their awesome jumps in the right venues.

    What’s a Dock Dog? A dog who swims, of course. But, dock dogs FLY! These water dogs leap and leap LOOOOOOONG into the water! I don’t know if this handsome Chesapeake is a champion in that particular competition, but this athletic dog could be a contender. These dogs take canine conditioning and performance to a whole new level.

    Again, this certainly wasn’t the right place to exercise this dog. The lovely, long summer evening was too much to resist evidently. I sure could not resist last night, but I took my dog to a LEGAL dog park with water. We were out swimming until 9:30 PM! Woo hoo. But with a bit of planning, folks can give their dogs plenty of swimming fun and have some awesome summer memories with their pooches.

    I’ve been trying to get the Puget Sound Dock Dogs to do a demonstration here in West Seattle during one of our summer festivals, but they are SO popular they book a year in advance. So, no such luck. They are performing next month at the Seattle Center, fyi
    No secret now, I heart madly dogs who swim. :)

  • wsme June 24, 2010 (10:17 am)

    This dog was probably off of its leash for a grand total of 5 minutes while it jumped in the water to grab a stick. Are we really getting to the point where everyone complains about something as small as this? I’m sure mrsB and Bender have NEVER done anything illegal. Do you stop for a full 3 seconds at a stop sign? Have you ever gone one MPH over the speed limit? Have you ever parked a little too close to someone’s driveway?

    Come on. I hate that no one can have a moment of fun anymore, even a dog. Out too late on Alki? Cops are there to break up bonfires by driving up the beach with spotlights on you, telling you you’re going too slow and need to pack up and leave right away. While I understand that there are regulations that need to be in place to hopefully keep away crime, I don’t need to be yelled at while packing up and making sure I’m grabbing every piece of garbage as to not pollute the environment, and then get followed to my car. No thank you SPD.

    end rant.

  • J June 24, 2010 (10:20 am)

    What is the WSB policy on featuring photos of illegal activities?

    “SMC 18.12.080 Animals running at large
    prohibited.1

    A. Except as expressly allowed in subsection B hereof, it is unlawful for any person to allow or permit any dog or other pet to run at large in any
    park, or to permit any dog or other pet with or without a leash, except Seeing Eye or Hearing Ear dogs or dogs used by public law enforcement agencies and under control of a law enforcement officer, to enter any public beach, swimming or wading area, pond, fountain, stream, organized athletics area or designated children’s play area.”

  • J June 24, 2010 (10:30 am)

    Oh…but it is a “championship” dog. Must be okay, then…..
    Um.

  • andrea June 24, 2010 (10:46 am)

    oh em gee…you people are ridiculous. get over it.

    that is a great shot of a beautiful dog, Aaron. thanks to you and WSB for sharing.

  • Alki Resident June 24, 2010 (10:48 am)

    What if-this was the dogs last dying wish to his master?Would you fulfill his wish or say”theres just too much risk of getting caught plus a fine”.
    There was a dog down here yesterday off his leash running alone side his owner on a skateboard.The dog was having the time of his life.Ran right past a cop standing on the walkway.Man and dog kept going without incident.Twas a great day on the beach.
    ps.J-what if-WSB put up a pic of the shooting last yr.in front of hundreds of innocent bystanders,would you condemn them for featuring illegal activity then?Or chalk one up for the good guys?

    • WSB June 24, 2010 (11:14 am)

      Buck stops with me, I decided to run the photo. As has been the case at every old-media org where I worked for 30 years – photos/video are reviewed on a case-by-case basis, and the manager/producer who puts it on the air/in the paper/on the website makes the decision. Out of curiosity, I also checked with our partners at the Seattle Times. Our liaison there spoke with their photo editor to ask if there is a “no illegal activities” photo policy at the largest news organization in the region. Answer: No. As they noted, and as I would agree, many photos, particularly in cases like this, may include helmetless bike/motorcycle riders, offleash dogs, jaywalkers, street-food vehicles without permits, unlicensed cats (I believe all pets in Seattle are supposed to be licensed, indoors or outdoors, but I would bet many of the ones on our Pets page are not). If you believe we shouldn’t have run the photo, I respect your opinion, but we did consciously choose to; it epitomizes the feeling many seemed to share about warm weather FINALLY making an appearance – TR
      .
      PS to J. See, WSB has 25,000 readers (those who visit at least once a week) and at most only a few percent ever choose to comment, which is the proportion on ANY website, all the way up to a site with millions of readers and thousands of comments. So please don’t extrapolate that the entire readership is represented by any particular discussion, though we do appreciate those who take the time to comment, whether negatively or positively, and best of all, the hundreds who contribute information in the comments during times of breaking news – we are proud of and thankful for them all.

  • J.See June 24, 2010 (11:08 am)

    OY. I made the mistake of reading comments because I wanted to read all the people who thought this photo was as great as I thought it was and I see this? An argument about leash laws? SERIOUSLY? The readers of this blog seriously make me rethink living in West Seattle.

  • Alki Resident June 24, 2010 (11:18 am)

    Thank you WSB and TR for showing our happy pets.Keep up the great job.

  • Teri June 24, 2010 (11:28 am)

    Love the photo! It made me smile.

    Then my next thought was that there would be negative comments posted about dogs not allowed on the beach; the dog was off leash; etc.

    Then when back to the photo and kept on smiling.

    Thank you WSB!

  • bebecat June 24, 2010 (11:47 am)

    I have Animal Control on speed dial….good thing I wasn’t there. :)

  • dmc June 24, 2010 (11:51 am)

    I did the same thing as Teri. I used to have Chessie that did the same flying leap into the water. He passed ten years ago and this photo brought tears to my eyes. Thanks for posting it.

  • Alki Resident June 24, 2010 (12:00 pm)

    bebecat-Do you also have the UFO sighting hotline number?206-722-3000″use only if the sighting has occurred within the last week”.

  • old timer June 24, 2010 (12:31 pm)

    Face it, dogs are sacred in this town.
    They are certainly more important than people without property or fame.
    They are certainly more grateful for table scraps than those at the food banks, they never talk back, and their slavish devotion is so welcome in a life devoted to self.
    Nothing dogs do can possibly be wrong.
    Only the dog owners might be accused of wrongdoing, but since
    many owners are actually priestly intermediaries with the sacred dog, and can speak with dogs and understand dog commands, they can not always be held to worldly standards.
    All hail to the sacred dog – may the dog rule.
    Don’t forget the crap bag!

  • Leroy June 24, 2010 (12:40 pm)

    I LOVE this photo and (as Tracy says) it epitomizes glee that summer has arrived. I like dogs on leashes too but come on! It’s a 400th of a second!

  • asif June 24, 2010 (12:48 pm)

    I disagree with the no dogs on the beach law, and I would never call on, or turn someone in for responsiblly walking their faithfull companion on the sand as I did one fine Sunday afternoon with my 3 month old Brittany, on a leash with poop bags in hand. I was motioned over to the sidewalk by a friendly cop who wrote me a $65.00 ticket. My argument of being a responsible pet owner fell on deaf ears, as I was reminded that the laws are applied to every dog/owner equally. As if my dog and I deserved more attention then the kids walking down the sidewalk smoking pot. What-ever.

  • biankat June 24, 2010 (1:29 pm)

    I just KNEW when I saw all the comments that there would be an uproar about the unleashed air dog. You guys are so predictable.

  • peeb June 24, 2010 (1:35 pm)

    it’s a fabulous pic. thanks for posting it.

    those of you who mentioned seattle beaches where dogs are allowed — where are they? the only ones i know of are at magnuson, where the beach is tiny and overcrowded, and somewhere on mercer island, which is a place i’m not interested in going.

  • datamuse June 24, 2010 (1:55 pm)

    Y’know, I’d be inclined to let y’all HAVE the beaches if it would make you happy, but it’d be nice if I could walk down my own street without someone’s loose dog running up and growling at me.
    .
    Which happened just today, so you’ll excuse me if I’m not feeling particularly sympathetic.
    .
    The kids smoking pot on the steps down the block from me the other day were breaking the law too, sure, but at least I wasn’t worried about whether they were going to bite me.

  • bebecat June 24, 2010 (2:27 pm)

    I believe in abiding in by the law…don’t believe in UFOs

  • thee June 24, 2010 (3:14 pm)

    and the nannies go wild!

    cripes, people…

  • HolyKow June 24, 2010 (3:37 pm)

    See, here come the name callers, (‘and the nannies go wild’ by Thee…) . And then there is the ‘you guys are so predictable’ one…yeah, we are, we crazy ‘don’t want your dog in our face’ people are just SO unreasonable because you arrogant dog owners feel like you can just ignore the law. Talk about predictable!

    When they have no ground to argue from a legal or reasonable standpoint, the arrogant dog owners resort to name calling. So, I will not feel bad about responding in kind. I am tired of having to be the nice guy and have to beg you people to put your flea bags back on the leash, you deserve a dose of your own medicine. Because we are right.

    Beautiful dog, no doubt.

    There are many many places with water that they can go and take a dip. Someone was wondering where they could go, read the SMC on dogs at large, they have very detailed locations where this is OK (link to their site below).

    This location, however, was not one of them…

    hk

    http://clerk.ci.seattle.wa.us/~scripts/nph-brs.exe?d=CODE&s1=18.12.080.snum.&Sect5=CODE1&Sect6=HITOFF&l=20&p=1&u=/~public/code1.htm&r=1&f=G

  • HolyKow June 24, 2010 (3:46 pm)

    I just smoked a little pot. (still not legal)

    I just went 5 over the speed limit. (still not legal)

    I almost stopped at the stop sign. (still not legal)

    I was just in the paid spot to answer a quick phone call (still not legal)

    I am a responsible dog owner wakling their dog on the beach (still not legal)

    It was only 400ths of a second (still not legal)

    Get the point?!

    hk

  • westseattledood June 24, 2010 (3:48 pm)

    peeb –

    check the link on my post to my url and drop me an email.

    Yippee! Summer is here!

  • datamuse June 24, 2010 (4:01 pm)

    Actually, I don’t smoke pot, speed, or run stop signs.
    .
    Maybe I should start.

  • biankat June 24, 2010 (4:14 pm)

    Jeez – angry much, hk? My comment was hardly arrogant. I’m simply pointing out that it’s a typical knee-jerk reaction of the voiced posters on this site. The photo was a great representation of summer’s arrival.

  • todog June 24, 2010 (5:03 pm)

    you forgot one hk- selling fruit on the street corner.

  • Babs June 24, 2010 (5:11 pm)

    I’ve seen many kids at the beach that should be on a leash! (Try riding a bike when they run rampant willy nilly in the bike path.)
    So one happy “unleashed” doggie flying off the the seawall made my day!

  • PSPS June 24, 2010 (5:27 pm)

    A dog happily jumps in the water and (some) people have a conniption fit? After shrugging off their silliness, I am reminded of “Mrs. Kravits:”

    “Abner!” … “Abner!”

  • Noelle June 24, 2010 (7:48 pm)

    I wish Alki had a “Doggy Friendly Beach Section” even if it was small. Lots of other cities have Doggy beaches where your dog can enjoy some water and sand. Maybe, make there be a huge fine for not cleaning up after your dog would make people be cleaner. Sloppy people are sloppy with or with out their dogs though. Lots of people make a HUGE mess at Alki with out the help of any dogs.

  • DC June 24, 2010 (7:56 pm)

    Love the picture!!!!

  • Noelle June 24, 2010 (8:03 pm)

    Sorry, I forgot to say . . . I LOVE the picture too! Looks like that dog was having a blast on the 1st Hot day all year! Thank you for posting the Pic WSB! You guys Rock!

  • j June 24, 2010 (8:34 pm)

    What a fantastic picture! Thanks for posting it WSB.

  • mj June 24, 2010 (8:41 pm)

    Ignore all laws. If it’s fine for one, how ’bout we all do it? We could all drive and text/talk. We could all go 5 miles over. You name it. Would that make for a great place to live?

  • Traci June 24, 2010 (11:06 pm)

    What a great picture!

  • J June 25, 2010 (12:05 am)

    Okay, so I’ve given some thought to the question (which I find more interesting than that of whether the dog owner was doing the right thing by letting the dog on the beach off-leash–that one is relatively simple to me) of whether the editorial choice to run this photo was right. In general I find Tracy’s editorial choices to be very thoughtful, so if I disagree, I do so with caution. Here’s my thinking, for anyone who’s still interested, this far out:

    I take the point about a photo containing illegal activities not being in itself grounds for leaving it out. It seems to me, though, that in this case, the illegal activity is the whole point of the photo, and not incidental. The context–the joie-de-vivre of the beautiful dog, the celebration of summer–tends to lend an air of tacit support to this activity. I think one of the consequences of running the photo will be a reinforcement of the common idea that this law need not be followed, and that, in fact, breaking it can be celebrated. If that is not the intent, then I do disagree with the choice to run it.

    On the other hand, my respect for Tracy’s editorial sense gives me pause.

  • Cami June 25, 2010 (8:59 am)

    OMG. It’s a dog! GREAT PHOTO CHOICE, Tracy.

  • Mister June 29, 2010 (1:41 pm)

    Only one thing matters here, and that is enforcement.

    If the Department of Executive Administration, the supervisor of Animal Control folks, wants to make some money for the City in these troubled times, they can start patrolling the beaches at low tide, as the residents have been suggesting for years, and issuing a few hefty tickets.

    Otherwise, celebration of an illegal activity continues unabated.

    If anyone wants to get serious, there is probably a federal statute which could be used against the City for their forbearance in not enforcing this law.

Sorry, comment time is over.