DMF: Del Mar’s True Loves

Often, around Valentine’s Day, the Del Mar Foundation hosts Meet & Greets at Shores Park for Del Mar’s people and their dogs to socialize and have some fun. This year we still wanted to celebrate the special bonds between Del Mar people and their pets — and since we could not meet in person, we invited Del Marians to send in favorite photos of their pets. The images that we received reminded us that we are fortunate to live in a community filled with so much love! Dogs predominated, but cats, a guinea pig, chickens, and fish are featured in the charming photo gallery on our website. See the gallery here.

The Foundation has long had volunteers and donors interested in making Del Mar a great place not just for humans, but for our animals as well – whether through the installation of dog-friendly water fountains, hosting Halloween dog parades (view photos from the 2019 parade here) and Meet and Greets, or funding the removal of foxtails at Shores Park in 2020, which were causing health and safety problems for dogs. And our $35,000 grant to the City in 2008 for acquisition of Shores Park was in step with our mission, which includes acquiring and preserving open space and improving parklands.

Though the Shores Park master plan is still in our future, the park is enjoyed regularly by Del Mar’s people, along with their dogs during designated hours. And someday we will have the next version of our Halloween Dog Parade, so no time like the present to start planning that prizewinning costume for your furry one!