Aug 11 2008
Mendocino, Calif., Lukewarm Toward Dogs
Three years ago, my husband and I spent Christmas in Mendocino, Calif. We stayed at the MacCallum House Inn and left well fed and rested. At the time, I noted that MacCallum offered several dog-friendly rooms, but at that time having a dog wasn’t even on my radar.
Fast forward three years, and our greyhound, Greta, has, at the age of three and a half, become a welcome, if not comical, addition to our family. So it only seemed fitting that when we considered another venture up to Mendocino, we decided to take her along for the ride.
The original room we stayed in at MacCallum house, the Gazebo Playhouse, was quite charming and perfect for my husband and myself, but I knew that adding a dog crate and 60-pound pooch to the mix would turn the cozy quarters into a cramped jail cell.
I finally decided that the best option for everyone was the Bug’s Ear, a stand-alone cottage about a mile away from MacCallum that offered a bit more privacy and much-needed space.
We hit the road on an early August weekday, and as Greta is not very fond of car rides, she was up and down and panting for the majority of the four-hour ride.
We arrived in Mendocino too early to check in, and I was dismayed to find that not one merchant in all of the small town had a dish of water out for a thirsty dog. Finally, we had to resort to begging for some tap water at a local cafe. (I did bring Greta’s dishes and water for the ride, but she is very particular about when she will and won’t drink from a dish, and in a car, moving or not, she won’t.)
Once we got some liquid in Greta and were able to check in, we set up her crate and she was finally able to get some rest.
The next morning, we took Greta to the beach, where she splashed and frolicked in the surf.
We had to keep her on leash, not only because she’s a greyhound, but also because the beach didn’t allow off leash dogs. (We heard there is a beach in Fort Bragg that allows dogs off leash, but we didn’t feel the need to make the 10-mile drive to check it out.)
The MacCallum house charges an extra $30 per night for pets, and they did provide us with a dog bed, blanket, and a few waste bags and treats. They also provided food and water dishes, although they would have been better suited for cats or very small dogs, so I’m glad I brought our large dishes from home. We also could have splurged on the Tail Wagger’s Club Basket (see photo below), but at $85, I decided to pass (since we were already paying an extra $60 for the two-night stay).
Other than a small coffee shop that had outdoor seating, there didn’t seem to be too many places in downtown Mendocino to dine with Greta in tow. We opted to pick up food and take it back to the cottage for lunch during the full day we were there. As breakfast was included with our stay, we did crate Greta both mornings while we ate, and we did the same for the two evenings we dined in town.
I’m glad we went, but next time I think we will stay closer to home and choose a place that’s more dog friendly. We did see a few dogs here and there during our stay, some large and some small, but in all, I was surprised that Mendocino didn’t have a more welcoming mat out for canines and their human travel companions.
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[...] Mendocino, Calif., may not be the end all be all for dogs and their humans, but for those who enjoy a good meal, the town sure delivers. [...]
If you go back to Mendocino, here are two other places you might want to check out:
The inn at schoolhouse creek, near Buckhorn Cove, which advertises nine acres of pet friendly cottages, and
The Little River Inn.
It’s always great to hear about pets being treated as family and included in the family vacations!
Hi, my first impression was similar to yours but came back and found out that an antique shop, two art galleries, a yarn shop, a bank, s perfume shop and other shop owners welcomed my dog…
as far as dining with dog… MacCallum House offers dining with dogs on their patio as do other pet friendly inns… and you and your well behaved dog can also dine together at the Stanford Inn’s lobby…
http://www.stanfordinn.com/innlight/pets.html
more pet friendly lodging info about Mendocino and other locations can be found at my dog travel blog celiasue.wordpress.com … am going to be offering a pet friendly Mendocino ebook soon… thanks !