Santa Barbara is an animal friendly kind of place, but traveling with animals can be very tricky, even when visiting Santa Barbara.

When you travel with animals, it is good to find a hotel/motel that accepts animals.  There is usually an extra charge for this, but it's worth it.  We once traveled across the country with two rabbits - which was quite the experience.  One night we were less than honest with the hotel owner and found ourselves picking hay out of the carpet to avoid the $50 penalty fee for having animals.  Forever after that I felt it was worth the extra $5 to be able to give my ice packs to the front desk and be able to ask for left over kale from the kitchen!

Also, make sure that if your animal requires special food that you either bring it or call the local pet stores to make sure they carry it.  Traveling can be difficult for animals in the best of times. Make sure that their food, water, toys, and comfy bed remain constant.  They will travel much better and be able to enjoy the family outings like they were meant to do.

Make sure that you bring any medications that your pet may need along.  There is no guarantee that you will be able to find an acceptable substitute quickly.

Hotels that accept pets

• Adobe Motel 26 E. Haley St.,  805-966-5505
• Beach House Inn & Apts. 320 W. Yanonali  805-966-1126
• Blue Sands Motel 421 S. Milpas St. 805-965-1624
• Casa Del Mar Inn 18 Bath St.  805-963-4418
• Country Inns & Suites 1455 Mission Dr, Santa Ynez 805-688-2018
• Fess Parker's Doubletree Resort 633 E. Cabrillo Blvd. 93103 805-564-4333
• Four Seasons Biltmore 1260 Channel Drive. 805-969-2261
• Harbor House Inn 104 Bath St.  805-962-9745
• Ivanhoe Inn 1407 Castillo St., 805-963-8832
• Kara's Beach House Rincon Point Rd. 93013 805-895-9128 
• La Playa Inn 212 W. Cabrillo Blvd. 93102 805-962-6436
• Marina Beach Motel 21 Bath St.  805-963-9311
• Montecito Del Mar 316 W. Montecito St., 805-962-2006
• Motel 6 3505 State Street, 805-687-5400
• Motel 6 5897 Calle Real, Goleta 805-964-3596
• Motel 6 Carpinteria 4200 Via Real, Carpinteria 805-684-6921
• Motel 6 Carpinteria 5550 Carpinteria Ave, Carpinteria 805-684-8602
• Pacifica Suites 5490 Hollister Ave. Goleta 805-683-6722
• San Ysidro Ranch 900 San Ysidro Ln., 805-969-5046
• Secret Garden Inn & Cottages 1908 Bath St. 805-687-2300

Parks
If you're looking for an off-leash experience, the Douglas Family Preserve is excellent.  It a long stretch of gorgeous water front, rustic and partially developed land where dogs are welcome to be off-leash.  It is important that your dog be okay with other dogs, however, as this is a popular place for running and fetching!  Other great parks for leashed dogs are Chase Palm Park, Shoreline Park, Oak Park.

Beaches
Generally, it is forbidden to have dogs off leash during the summer but if you're here in the off-season, it's usually okay.   Great beaches for dogs are Hendry's Beach, the stretch of unnamed beach below Shoreline Park and west of Leadbetter Beach, which you can only get to during low tide, and El Capitan Beach is wonderful if you don't mind a bit of a drive.

Restaurants
Many, many restaurants in Santa Barbara have patio seating.  Make sure to ask the staff, but most are more than happy to let your leashed dog hang out with you and some even provide a bit of a treat to make your pet happy. 

Care Hospital - 301 E. Haley St, (805) 899-2273 - CARE Hospital is a state-of-the-art veterinary center offering advanced medical and surgical procedures for your pets.

Pacific Emergency Pet Hospital, 2963 State St. (805) 682-5120.  Open nights and weekends, this emergency hospital is staffed by vets from the areas regular services.  Superb with cats and dogs.  Exotic animals will find hit or miss, as you never know which vet may have a unique specialty.  Call ahead if you have birds, reptiles or small mammals (rabbits, guinea pigs)