INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — Sorry, Fido. County commissioners have killed a short-lived proposal to open up one of its beaches as a full-time, off-leash dog beach.

The County Commission Tuesday was split, voting 3-2 against the idea, which former Commissioner Peter O’Bryan first suggested in October. Had he still been on the commission, the tables likely would have been turned. This week Commissioner Deryl Loar, who was sworn in Nov. 22 to O’Bryan’s former seat, voted no.

The proposal was to convert one of the county’s few dog-friendly beaches into a permanent off-leash dog beach, but opponents had safety concerns.

“We can’t predict them. We can’t prevent them from acting on instinct,” Commissioner Joe Flescher said Tuesday. “That was my primary concern from the very inception of this, that we may be looking at an unintended consequence.”

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Up for consideration were Indian River Shores’ beaches — Turtle and Seagrape trails, which already offer off-leash hours, but only from sunrise to 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. to sunset — and Ambersands Beach or Treasure Shores. Otherwise, the Treasure Coast has only one beach that allows dogs off-leash any time of day: Walton Rocks Beach in St. Lucie County.

That’s why O’Bryan suggested the idea in the first place, he said — to give Indian River County residents a closer option.

“I just think it would be a good thing to have for our community,” O’Bryan said Oct. 4. “And I would love to be able to take my dog to a beach here in Indian River County instead of going to St. Lucie County.”

From the moment he brought it up, however, there was pushback. Commissioner Laura Moss expressed environmental and safety concerns, which Flescher echoed.

“I think we’d have to be very careful about this, because there’s also an environmental aspect to it,” Moss said. “The dog leaves behind certain residue, shall we say, that gets washed into the ocean.”

Regarding doggy residue, O’Bryan suggested setting up dog waste stations.

“All the times I’ve been there, all the dogs have played well,” O’Bryan said. “They don’t dig up sea turtle nests, they’re busy chasing things in the water and this and that.”

Like among commissioners, public opinion was split, and the debate often grew heated. Two Indian River Shores residents spoke out against the suggestion at the Nov. 14 commission meeting. Tuesday, another resident spoke out against it, while one Roseland resident spoke in favor.

“It is highly unlikely dogs would stay within the imaginary boundaries for the dog parks,” said Dennis Dunlap, an Indian River Shores resident of 15 years. 

Dunlap and Robert Christiansen, an Indian Shores Resident of 16 years — and both dog owners, they said — echoed Flescher and Moss’ concerns, saying they were worried about more unleashed dogs and attacks on beach goers.

Still some support for the idea

Commissioners Joseph Earman and Susan Adams, however, tried to keep the proposal alive. From the beginning, Adams heard support for the idea from her constituents, she said.

“[I’m] completely taken aback by the pushback the residents, who already enjoy this option for themselves within the town of Indian River Shores, had to nonresidents coming and enjoying the same thing on county-owned beach property,” Adams said Tuesday.

She also expressed frustration about the direction some criticisms went.

“It’s a little frustrating when things get blown completely out of proportion,” she said. “Related to sea turtles, and I think red tide was brought up in some of the emails, because of dog excrement. I think that’s an extreme argument.”

Despite vocal opposition, some dog owners — and their dogs — are still holding out for the idea.

“I think it’s fantastic,” said Annie Astley, 48, of Vero Beach. “If people want to come out all day with their dogs, I think it’s great to have a designated place to do that. That way everyone else knows what they’re getting into.”

Astley walks her 5-year-old golden retriever, Ginny, near Turtle and Seagrape trail beach access every day around sunrise and sunset, she said. Those are the only hours Ginny is allowed off-leash in Indian River County. Still, they’ve been playing there ever since she was a puppy.

Ginny, who romped around her owner happily, appeared in favor of going leashless, too.

“I mostly see the upsides,” Astley said. “There’s always a tiny percentage of people that can’t control their dog. That’s going to happen anywhere.” But, she said, the vast majority of dogs and dog owners she encounters are respectful.

Where else can dogs enjoy off-leash play time?

Because Indian River County scuttled the off-leash beach idea, Treasure Coast canines still are restricted to Walton Rocks and the limited hours at Seagrape and Turtle trails. But there are numerous noncoastal parks where dogs can romp freely.

In Indian River County, there’s the Vero Beach Dog Park and Sebastian Bark Park, while Martin County has Haney Creek and Poppleton Creek dog parks.

St. Lucie County has seven off-lespansh dog pspanrks, including Lyngate Dog Park, McChesney Dog Park and Winterlakes Park.