Great news!  Shakespeare by the Sea is going to continue to be held at Point Pleasant Park!  For awhile this winter it appeared that they were moving to an indoor location - but now, for the summer of 2010 - they are going to having their performances at Martello Tower - so if  your dog is well behaved you can bring them with you to the performances.  Isn't that super?  On this page I've always warned everyone about not letting your dogs run through the performances - which is still true - but now I can also say that you should go spend your money at the plays - because you can bring your canine life companion with you! 

I know that it's something Buttercup and I could definitely do because she'd like nothing better than sitting in my lap for 2 hours straight!  For more info about the shows you can go to:  http://www.shakespearebythesea.ca/   

There is a SUPER local blog that is owned by a guy by the name of Trent Boswick - it's called "Dogs 4 Point Pleasant Park" and its at

Dogs 4 Point Pleasant Park - you should definitely check it out, and if you've gone to Point Pleasant Park with your dog you should go have a look because your dog may be on the blog somewhere! haha!  I wrote a blog post about an article that was in the Chronicle Herald that did a great story on the blog that you should definitely read that tells the story behind the blog - it's a great read!

The picture at the top of this page was sent to me by Paula who lives with Bailey - a soft coated wheaten who was always a regular user of Point Pleasant Park before hurricane Juan.

Paula took this picture of Bailey the first day the park opened back up in June 2004 and I think that the look on Bailey's face pretty much sums up the whole experience of what the park means to every dog and every dog owner who uses Point Pleasant park!

It doesn't matter that the trees are now few and far between and that the paths are paved with mulch - it is a space where the dogs can run off-leash at top speed and then screech to a halt and sniff something and then go running off at top-speed again - and we get to witness the unmitigated and pure joy that they exude when they're there.

Having the park closed all those months back in 2004 then made us realize that we really need spaces like Point Pleasant Park - our dogs deserve this kind of experience - there's enough space in this city for everyone - human and canine - and squirrel and aviary and everything in between! We can all get along and have looks on our faces just like Bailey has in this picture - wouldn't that be perfect?  I recently had an email from Paula telling me that Bailey still goes to the park every day and still loves to run around - her favourite dogs to play with are puppies.  2004 seems like a long time ago now - but having 50% of our legal off-leash space taken away in one night for all of the HRM still continues to threaten us because of the the heavy handed way the bureaucrats like to deal with dog owners in our city.

Some pointers about Point Pleasant Park: 

Sometimes I find other dog owners are not friendly and don't like their dogs to play with other dogs - which makes me question why they are there in the first place! And there are a lot of non-dog people, joggers, and bicyclists who use the same trails. If someone gets uppity about your dog, simply tell them that after 10am the Shore Road is completely dog free, so if you don't like dogs around you, you can walk down there.

I love having that option to tell people, so I am happy that there are off-limits to dogs parts of the park. A lot of people have no idea how to act around animals so that they don't jump up or give them unwanted attention. It has been my experience that if you ignore the dog (ie: no eye contact) they will completely ignore you. It is when you give them eye contact that they feel free to approach and search you for cookies in any manner they see feasible which may include putting their paws on your legs and/or stomach.

There are maps at several key parts of the trails so it is almost impossible to get lost. During the summer there is live theatre happening every evening. So if you go around 7pm during the summer months, don't let your dogs run in and stop the play - they get very upset about it! Also put bug spray on - the mosquitoes everywhere are wicked, probably due to a lot of open water around the park - and if your dog's a bog-dog, keep towels in the car because it can get messy!

The park is also strictly monitored so follow the leash rules here. There are Park cops driving through all the time and they like nothing better than to give lectures on the laws - they never get out of their vehicles though, so you could probably run away pretty easily! The rules for dogs at Point Pleasant Park are: they have to be on-leash in all parking lots; they have to be on-leash on Cambridge Drive to Olgivie Road.

They are not allowed at all after 10am on Shore Drive (which is the road next to the water from Black Rock beach to the bottom of Cambridge Drive) - they are allowed there before 10am however and it is a hugely popular place before 10am.

There are lots of regulars who go there every morning.

There are a couple of excellent web sites that I've found since the hurricane that are about Point Pleasant Park: http://www.chebucto.ns.ca/Environment/FPPP/history1.html# European talks about the history of the park and was put together by the the Friends of the Point Pleasant Park a few years ago when the whole broo haa haa about the beetle was going on. http://www.atl.c.ec.gc.ca/weather/hurricane/juan/photos_e.html  Several pages of excellent pictures from the government's website of hurricane damage with some super aerial shots of the park.   

This picture was in the Halifax Chronicle Herald on December 28, 1999. I think you will recognize a few people in it - even though almost all of the dogs now have gone to heaven and are waiting for us there, but at one point they were stars in their time. The stars now are all seen on Trent's blog which is highlighted above. The caption below read: "Walk and Wag: Dog owners walk their pets at Point Pleasant Park on Monday. The park has been described as dog heaven." I heartily agree. 

And so does Bailey!!! 

Some other pages on this site!

Why this website exists

What to do when your dog isn't dog friendly

Tips for owners of dog friendly businesses

Local fun things to do with your dog!

Is your dog dog friendly?

Tips for a benevolent alpha