WILDWOOD – Now in the second summer at its new digs, Wildwood’s dog beach is attracting return vacationers who can’t wait to put their paws in the sand. And for Kloey, a 7-year-old mixed-breed rescue from Sleepy Hollow, N.Y., the dog park is the reason she and her people, Ken and Arlene Fiala, make the return trip from their home in the Empire State to the Jersey Shore.
“Kloey is the Wildwood dog beach ‘spokes dog,’” Arlene Fiala said with a smile. “Even though she’s an emotional support dog and could go anywhere, this is still our number one vacation spot,” she added.
In 2016, while searching for a dog-friendly vacation spot, the Fialas learned that Wildwood offered a beach just for pooches and their people. After booking their 2017 vacation, they learned the city’s first dog park was not operational.
“We thought we’d have to cancel our vacation,” Ken Fiala said.
“We weren’t going to come to Wildwood,” Arlene Fiala added. “We were going to cancel our reservation.”
A note from the couple to City Hall citing their disappointment proved to be the answer to their problem. Responding to their concerns, Commissioner Pete Byron explained the dog park was not closed, but due to its popularity, was being moved to its current location on the beach at Maple Avenue where it offers even more dog-friendly amenities than in previous years.
This summer found Kloey’s tail wagging as she made her way across the sand to play on the beach with her puppy pals. Donning a pair of pink sunglasses, Kloey barked her delight at being back on the sand and wagged her tail at the mention of going into the ocean.
To commemorate Kloey’s return to the dog beach, Byron presented the Fialas with photos taken of Kloey on the beach in 2017. “Kloey is a great ambassador for the Wildwood dog beach,” Byron said.
Cape May County – Why don't we have a local TV station in South Jersey? We had channel 40 in Linwood and that's gone. Maybe because it highlighted real news at times!! With all due respect to the Cape May…
