Read All About It! FAAS Launches New Pet-Friendly Guide for Alameda
Photos from Friends of Alameda Animal Shelter (FAAS).
Friends of the Alameda Animal Shelter’s CEO John Lipp had a spark of an idea last year. “Alameda’s such a pet-friendly city. I wonder if we could put together a little guide listing some pet-friendly places so people could spend more time with their pets?”
That “little” guide has just come out - and it’s beyond anything John could have imagined a year ago. The Alameda Pet Guide, created by staff with the help of a team of dedicated volunteers, is a beautiful, 32-page magazine-size publication that’s delighting residents and businesses of this sunny island. It’s being mailed to every household in Alameda, and thousands of additional guides will be distributed around Alameda and beyond.
The guide is much more than quick listings. Its pages are packed with entertaining descriptions of dozens of stores, services, restaurants, and adventures. In addition to pieces about nearly one hundred pet-friendly restaurants, the Alameda Pet Guide features fun write ups about parks, dog-friendly stores, pet-friendly services like salons and barbers, and even some boating adventures you can do with your dog at your side.
“I’m thrilled at how it turned out,” John says. “At FAAS, we’re always looking for ways to help nurture the human-animal bond. Spending quality time together is a great way to foster a beautiful relationship.”
Here’s an example of an entry in the guide’s Restaurants section. Mosley’s Cafe, just a three-minute walk from FAAS, is one of the guide’s “Picks of the Litter” so does get a meatier description than most restaurants, but this should give you a taste of what’s in store.
Mosley’s Cafe
Owner Scott Cordle lights up when he sees a dog at the entryway to his open-air cafe overlooking the Oakland Estuary. Busy as he can be, he’ll often come out to greet dogs. He gets to know them by name (much as he does his human customers), features them on his Instagram page, and gives dogs a piece of organic Tillamook cheese if time allows. As if that’s not enough, he also has a jar or two of treats, and a giant water bowl here is always full.
And here’s something that makes dogs swoon: Mosley’s has a dog-friendly menu item you won’t see on the regular menu: Your dog can get a side of ham, turkey, or scrambled eggs. Lucky dogs. You need to order indoors (you can be served outdoors), but your dog can come up to the counter with you since it’s open-air. 2009 Grand Street; 510-263-8228; mosleyscafe.com.
And here’s a sample writeup of one of the dog-friendly businesses that’s not an eatery.
Al’s Barbershop
Stepping into Al’s is like stepping back in time, only with up-to-date haircuts with really good fades. It’s a classic old barbershop with beloved and cool barbers who wear collared real-deal white barber shirts and wrap your face in hot towels for a shave. The barbers love dogs, and most have dogs of their own. If you visit when shop owner Nick is here, you may meet his little black-and-white dog, a Japanese Chin named Bob. Bob looks like a serious fellow in the shop’s Instagram photos, but he’s actually a chill guy who is always down for meeting other dogs.
Dogs are welcome here. There’s a water bowl outside, and inside, dogs can get treats and play with some toys while you settle in for a barbershop experience that’ll likely make you a regular. 1502 1/2 Webster Street; 510-473-7869; alsbarbers.com
Along with its new guide, FAAS is rolling out another pioneering idea. Businesses that welcome dogs are being presented with a special FAAS window decal indicating they’re dog-friendly (move over Yelp and TripAdvisor!). The stickers will be a great tool for people who may not have the guide in hand, but want to know if a business will welcome their leashed, beautifully behaved dog. Please note that for restaurants, the dog-friendly designation pertains only to outdoor seating, since the California Health and Safety Code prohibits live animals inside a food facility, except for service dogs.
Besides helping pets and their people, Lipp says he hopes the guide and decals will help support local pet-friendly small businesses. “People who get to bring their dogs to these kinds of places can become very loyal customers,” he says. “We’d love that for Alameda businesses.”
Admittedly, dogs are the pets who will benefit most from this guide, since people don’t tend to take cats to places like restaurants and parks (there are exceptions, though not many). But FAAS adores cats, so we’ve included a special article about making them happy, too. The guide also features listings for local veterinarians and other pet-oriented businesses, so people with all manner of pets can have a ready resource at their fingertips. A digital edition of the guide can be found here.
All of us here at FAAS are excited about the launch of our new guide. We hope you enjoy it as much as we enjoyed putting it together!