PAWS OFF: No dogs allowed

Residents and businesses of Siesta Key have all reported an increase in tourists to the Key this year, but law enforcement is reporting an uptick in a different demographic: four-legged visitors.

Dogs are not allowed on any of Siesta Key’s beaches, but over the past several weeks, the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office has started noticing more dogs on the beach as visitors who don’t know the regulations come to the area, said Sgt. Scott Osborne.

Besides a concern for the safety of other beachgoers, the Sheriff’s Office said dogs can cause harm to nesting birds and turtles as well. Dogs can interfere with other species or even dig up nests. However, Osborne points out that service dogs are allowed on the beach.

Deputies on the Key have started early-morning patrols — as early as 6 a.m. — to watch the beach for dogs and owners, Osborne said. The first time is a warning; the second time the deputies see someone with his pet on the beach, it’s a violation with a $100 fine. From Feb. 16 to Feb. 22, deputies handed out 14 warnings.

The issue is solved, usually, by educating pet owners that they can’t take their dogs on the public or private beaches, but it’s only a temporary solution.

“The problem is, all these guests leave and more come,” Osborne said.

Osborne also said lack of signage may be to blame for visitors not knowing that dogs aren’t allowed. Only the public beach access points are labeled with information telling people no pets are allowed; people could be walking out from condos onto the beach where there are no signs.

Osborne thinks more signs would be helpful, especially near the condos’ beaches.

“It’s an education process,” he said.

Connie Schall, a part-time resident of Sarasota County, has experienced firsthand why dogs on the beach can be a safety issue.

Schall walks on Siesta Beach almost every day, covering three or four miles. In December, about 45 minutes into her daily walk, two miniature pinschers that were off-leash ran up to her and bit her leg.

She ran away and called the Sheriff’s Office, but when she and the deputy returned, they couldn’t find the dogs. A few days later, she heard the two dogs barking inside of a condo. She called the Sheriff’s Office and deputies contacted the owner of the dogs and gave them a citation.

Only a few weeks after the incident, however, Schall saw another dog on the beach during her workout. This time, it was a large black Labrador retriever off-leash. It didn’t attack her, but she was concerned.

“It’s dangerous down there — there are little kids playing and elderly people,” Schall said.