I just had to figure out a way to tie the fact that IKEA IS COMING into a (legitimate) post.

Surprisingly, this was not as difficult as it sounds. That’s because the new IKEA will be located in Dartmouth Crossing. Say what you will about this concrete jungle with its big box stores and poor walkability. I get it. But as much as I want to hate Dartmouth Crossing, it just scores so well in so many areas that are important to me, such as parking, convenience and yes, even dog-friendliness.

First off, did you know that a ton of the stores (and restaurants) in Dartmouth Crossing consider themselves to be pet-friendly? You can find a link to the full list here. Now, I haven’t actually taken Dallas into any of the stores except PetSmart. And I can’t really imagine how clothes shopping with a black lab in tow would be any fun (to be fair, I’m not much of a shopper to begin with). That said, there are a lot of times when it would be pretty convenient to be able to run into a store with Dal, particularly on hot or cold days when leaving her in the car is not an option.

Second (and this is a big one for us), Dartmouth Crossing offers a super sneaky access point to Shubie Park.

I am going to go ahead and boldly declare Shubie Park as the best park in HRM. It has a huge trail system, including a big off-leash zone. Its many entrances make it super accessible. It’s right in between two beautiful lakes. It even has a dog beach.

  
So yeah. We love Shubie. And we love the Dartmouth Crossing entrance to Shubie because it’s very easy to get to and very underused. I can’t wait to be able to combine a trip to IKEA with a Shubie dogventure. It will be the best day ever.

One last thing before I go. I have a pretty exciting new initiative in the works, and I can’t wait to share it with all of you once it becomes official… Stay tuned!