ORMOND BEACH, Fla. — Dog owners in Volusia County are gearing up to participate in an upcoming pilot program that will allow dogs on a section of beach in Volusia County for the first time since the late 1980s.

The Volusia County Council voted on July 11 to approve an 18-month pilot program that will permit dogs on a 0.6-mile stretch of beach running from Milsap Road to Rockefeller Drive in Ormond Beach starting on Nov. 1. The only other dog-friendly beaches in Volusia County are located at Lighthouse Point Park and Smyrna Dunes Park. 

Ormond Beach resident Kathryn Weston said she’d love to be able to take her two dogs, Flower and Lucia, to the beach in hot weather.

“Flower’s favorite game is definitely fetch," Weston said. "I think Lucia’s favorite game is probably wrestling. They like to play tug of war together, too."

Weston said her four-legged friends play by the pool, trying to get wet and refreshed, because they are not allowed on the beach yet. 

Dogs have been banned in all but specially designated areas of Volusia County's beaches since 1987 due to environmental and safety concerns. According to the Department of Health, 600 Floridians are hospitalized from dog bites each year and across the 35 coastal counties in Florida, only 19 have dog-friendly beaches. 

In Volusia County, residents want a dog beach without having to drive all the way south.

“The dog beach that’s closest is in Ponce Inlet, and it’s about 45 minutes away," Weston said.

For that reason, she has never taken Flower and Lucia to the beach. She takes them to Central Park in Ormond Beach to expend some of their energy in the summer.

“Well, I like it because there is grass, and there is not many places where I can walk them where their paws aren’t on concrete," Weston said. 

As part of the pilot program, dogs will be permitted on the beach from sunrise to sunset, with some limitations. Owners will be responsible for cleaning up after their dogs and keeping them on a leash of up to 6 feet long, as well as having proof of rabies vaccinations. 

Weston said she looks forward to the day she can take Flower and Lucia for a swim and that she hopes the pilot program will ultimately become permanent.