The Dog Gone Dilemma of Letting Dogs Downtown

"My dog is cleaner than a lot of the people who are downtown." —Sarah, from the SPCA

"I'm concerned with feces and urine and fleas. I believe dogs create a health problem. They leave urine on sidewalks and sides of buildings. There is no way to prevent it short of a diaper or catheter. You can't even keep up with the gum thrown on the sidewalks now." —Kay Archer Bowden

"I'm more concerned with children who come in with parents who don't discipline them."—Judy Wyant, owner of Judy Wyant Antiques, when asked if she worried that wagging tails could damage her fragile goods.

"My group Woofers and Walkers will donate 5,000 poop bags and put up stands for them. On Sundays, we have yappy hour and we spend $200-$400 in an hour and a half at a dog-friendly restaurant, somewhere. Not downtown."—Whitney Wilde

"Spell dog backwards and what do you get?"—speaker for dogs.

"Twenty-nine million people traveled more than 50 miles with their dogs and stayed in hotels last year, according to the Travel Industry Association. Currently Santa Cruz is listed in two major guidebooks, including AAA, as being not dog friendly. We also note that in Trip Advisor and Yelp, Santa Cruz is listed as a place you don't want to go to with dogs."—Betsy Firebaugh

"The problem is that people who don't have dogs don't really unify around not having dogs, like atheists don't really unify around not believing in God."—Peter Chester, speaking on behalf of those who don't want dogs downtown.

"I think dogs are the only thing prohibited in the ordinance, so you can bring your ...."—Mayor Ryan Coonerty, when asked about whether this opened the gates to other species.