Big scrum at the Cayucos dog park

July 30, 2026

Dell Franklin walking his dog on the beach

By DELL FRANKLIN

Editor’s Note: The following series, “Life in Radically Gentrifying Cayucos by the Sea,” to be posted biweekly includes the notes, thoughts, and opinions of an original American voice: author Dell Franklin. 

Franklin’s latest book – “Hitchhiking, A Destiny” – is currently on Amazon.

This is what I heard from the husband of a wife who, on her daily morning marathon walks, passes through the Cayucos cemetery that borders the tiny Cayucos dog park:

Upon spotting a white car piled up against a small rise, she was informed by two witnesses that a totally negligent person committed the galling sin of not completely closing the gate to the dog park upon leaving, which would allow dogs to escape and end up on the nearby Highway 1. He was properly chastised by a fellow dog owner for his mistake.

Evidently, this negligent dog owner became miffed at the attitude and offensive nature of his chastiser and had words with him.

The air between them became hot as they continued to exchange words—to the extent that they almost came to blows before the negligent chap pulled a gun on the chastiser, whereupon the chastiser took flight from the negligent one, heading for his car, possibly pulling his poor little beast behind him in his haste.

Simply appalling when one considers cruelty to animals.

Well, the negligent one, evidently further miffed by the chastiser, jumped in his nearby car and blocked off the path of the road leading out of the cemetery/dog park area, therefore terrifying the chastiser who very legitimately feared being shot by the enraged negligent one, and while trying to wind around the blocked car rolled his car up on a mini hill and settled there on its side.

Now, I don’t know what happened after this incident, except that the negligent one got the hell out of there pronto!

There has been nothing in the news about a shooting in Cayucos. There is no more information on what occurred after the chastiser piled up on the hill, or if he talked with the police about a gunslinger pointing a gun at him. I’m pretty sure at some point the police were present.

Now, the husband of the wife disclosing this incident has been after me to write about some of these entitled new citizens of Cayucos with their fussy over-bred pedigrees and mini dogs and their chastising of local beach dog walkers for various negligence, like allowing a frothing Lab to tear and thrash around in and out of the water while chasing swatted tennis balls, or for a pony-size Great Dane trying to sniff and make friends with a skittish French bulldog.

Some of these people are from big wealthy urban centers where French bulldogs are all the rage and accompany pasty-faced techie nerds and their gym-toned, parlor-tanned, Botox-blighted women holding onto rhinestone-studded leashes and marauding over our wide-open dog-friendly beach with their stern and judgmental attitudes and necessity to control anything within a foot of their beings.

I have had a run-in with and been chastised by this type back when my chocolate Lab, Wilbur, tried to make friends with a black Lab, and hysterics occurred and I found myself wanting to attack the chastiser much as did the negligent one who threatened to shoot the chastiser. What really infuriated me was that this couple “ordered” me to put my dog on a leash while their dog was off his leash!

Well, Wilbur was having none of it and quickly unleashed a lion’s roar and pinned a possibly 80 pound Lab on its back. I quickly ordered Wilbur to pry himself off the stricken hound, he obeyed, and we made our merry way along the beach, as I was proud of my dog for doing my dirty work and making a point.

Now, looking back, I think the best thing that could have happened between the chastiser and the negligent one was to just let their dogs off their leashes and fight it out for them, instead of behaving like desperate, spoiled, frightened children.

My guess is the two dogs were above it all, didn’t want part of any of it, and were very disappointed in their masters.