These last few weeks have included Brenda and Stevie trying to find dog-friendly beaches for me.

Ever since we have been coming to the area, I have loved going to El Pinet which has a lovely beach where we can have a long walk along the shoreline and I can run in and out of the sea, after my ball, as much as I like but Stevie found out recently, that the police will fine you, if they catch you there.

Lots of people will still decide to carry on walking their dogs on their chosen beaches and we may still go there in winter and spring but as we are likely to be here longer than that, Brenda and Stevie wanted to find somewhere we won’t be fined.

It turns out that when Stevie and Brenda Google dog-friendly beaches in the Costa Blanca area, quite a few appear but sometimes that is just because people have said that they like walking their dog there. However. they found four beaches which are officially dog-friendly but none of them were as good as El Pinet.

Stevie checked with the local police to see if we’d missed any and they told us categorically that apart from the beaches we had found, it is illegal to walk dogs on any other beaches at any time of the year. Interestingly, we did find signs at Playa de los Locos at Torrevieja, that dogs are allowed on the beach outside of bathing season (June-August) but not if other people are on the beach! However, there is a small bay at the end which can probably be used but Stevie will be checking with the Torrevieja police.

The four official dog-friendly beaches found are:

Playa Agua Amarga (also shows as Rock & Beach Playa Canina) near Alicante airport, to the left hand side of the slipway when facing the sea, where there are several dog beach signs. There are rocks in the sea near the shoreline and the sand is rough because it contains lots of ground up shells, which means trainers are better than flip flops but at least you can walk, although there can be lots of fishermen. There is a large car park on rough ground but no cafe as far as Stevie could see.

Playa canina “Cala Mosca” south of Torrevieja by Playa Flamenca. The beach is actually at Cala Mosca ll and Cabo Peñas and is probably our favourite because the sand was OK and although there are rocks in the sea, they are far enough away from the shoreline although it shelves quite steeply towards them. It is a very small bay, so not really much walking but you get to walk to it from the parking area around Cala Mosca, although there are some steep-ish slopes (not ideal for flip-flops). There are no signs but Stevie checked with the Cala Mosca lifeguard, who turns people with dogs off Cala Mosca and he said that it is definitely the dog beach. There are cafés around the corner from Cala Mosca opposite the parking.

Playa Canina at Cala Rocío south of Torrevieja is more of an area where you can go with your dog rather than running your dog on a beach. It is very rocky but has sun umbrellas and dog beach signs, the Nautilus restaurant is nearby and there is limited parking on the road although there is a car park but it may be for the Nautilus.

Caleta dels Gossets north of Santa Pola, the nearest one to us, is the one we disliked the most. It has lots of dried sea grass on the limited sand but is mainly rocky with lots of sea grass in the water, there is parking but no cafés.

If you think you know of an official dog-friendly beach in the Costa Blanca area, we’re happy to go and check it out but we are now taking the view that if it doesn’t say dogs are allowed, then they probably aren’t.

It has been a strange few weeks, with our return trip to Spain being on and off and on again! Good news first off, my lump was benign, so that was a relief and Brenda and Stevie had booked everything for us to leave. Unfortunately, Stevie’s van engine couldn’t be fixed so the plan was back to getting a replacement engine. One was finally sourced but it could not be fitted in time, so everything that had been booked for us to leave had to be re-booked.

Finally, Stevie was able to get his van back, which he was very pleased about and so was I, as I get the whole back seat to myself. I then went to see Katie at the vets, who provided a 9-page Animal Health Certificate for me in English and Spanish. The van was then packed, so I didn’t quite get the whole back seat and we drove to Portsmouth, where we boarded the Galicia.

Stevie then put a muzzle on me which I didn’t like at all and we went in a lift to the pet cabins, which were very nice and led straight onto the dog walk, it was all very well thought out!

After two nights on the ferry we disembarked at Santander and drove eight hours back home. There were frequent stops so that I could have a walk but I was really pleased to get home. Since we’ve been back I’ve even been swimming in the sea but then we went for a walk in a park and I made the mistake of licking a processionary caterpillar. Stevie took me straight to the vets and I’m on antibiotics and anti-inflammatories but I may still lose the edges of my tongue as the caterpillar’s hairs kill off flesh. at least the vet didn’t have to operate. Let’s hope the next couple of weeks are less stressful.

Last week was really boring, Stevie and Brenda spent all their time in the back bedroom and shut me out! I wondered what they were doing but it turned out they were decorating and assembling a very large wardrobe with mirror sliding doors – Stevie said ‘never again’. It looks lovely but now I get into trouble when I lie on the bed in that room. It’s their fault, they should have given me my own bed when I first started living with them. However, life isn’t as bad as it sounds, there’s always tug toys and trees!

This week, I was back at the vets, where I saw the lovely Aidin and had a really nice chat with her, well I barked (a lot) and she chatted and told me I was fully recovered but they hadn’t had the confirmation that the lump was benign yet. Aidin also gave me my rabies jab but she wasn’t allowed to write it in my Spanish passport because she is no longer an EU-vet. However, I do have it written on a vaccination card, so Brenda and Stevie are hoping (I don’t really care) that the Spanish vet will write the information in my passport, when I get back to Spain. Unfortunately, that means I have to have an Animal Health Certificate to leave the country and the vets said that as it has to be a one hour appointment, we needed to book 2-3 weeks in advance.

At that time, we had no idea when we would be able to leave but Spain’s lockdown is currently only until 2/Mar/21, so Brenda decided to book it in March and then next week see what the rules are, as to whether it would need to be delayed. As it was, Brenda must have been psychic because on 17/Feb/21 the Spanish Government confirmed to the UK Government that the paperwork Brenda and Stevie have, is acceptable as proof that they are UK nationals resident in Spain, so we’re going home and I’ll get to play in the Mediterranean again!

This week started out OK with more snow and then I had to visit the vet! It turns out I had an epulsis (benign tumour) in my mouth which they had decided needed to be removed. It hadn’t bothered me but the night before the operation I kept rubbing it, so it probably was a good thing.

I didn’t get breakfast that morning and then I had to travel to the vet’s on Steve’s lap in the MX5 which I really hated but luckily it was a short journey. I was really happy to go with the veterinary nurse and as they put me to sleep, I didn’t know much about the operation. Even better, when I woke up they gave me chicken, which was just as well because for some reason I hadn’t had any breakfast that morning and I was missing a tooth. Finally, Brenda and Steve came and collected me, I didn’t mind the journey back, although it was a bit crowded, we managed. When we arrived home they gave me some scrambled egg and fish, so the day turned out quite well, despite the lack of breakfast, I did mention that didn’t I!

I know I said that my favourite activity was playing in the Mediterranean but recently I had the most brilliant Snow Day. I tried to persuade Stevie to throw a stick for me but as I had picked up a very long one and hit him in the back of the legs with it, he didn’t seem to want to do that!

The other thing that happened this week is that my Spanish passport arrived, so I’m ready to go, just as soon as Brenda and Stevie can take me.
I had obtained a passport before I left Spain but when I tried to use it at the Eurotunnel border in France, it seemed that the Spanish vet had entered my chip number incorrectly (hence the arrival of the correct passport) but luckily I still had my UK passport with me and the vet had entered my worming and fit to travel details in both passports – phew!