Charcoal, companion to Robert & Diana Allen of Hillsborough County, welcomes you to the October issue of the NewsPetter. Charcoal is a 1-year-old Distorted Tortoise who loves napping in the Florida sun and, like most cats, wants attention, but only when she wants it.

HOT off the presses: Dog park to open on the north side of All Children's Park parking lot in Port Orange. Opening is scheduled for October 17 and park dedication will be announced later.

Has anyone been to "Love My Dog Water Park" in St. Petersburg yet? It opened the beginning of this month and costs $7 for 1/2 hour of water play. Go here for more info.

Many homeless people have canine companions and winter can be cold for them too. If you'd like to help make dog coats for homeless people's pets, contact me and I'll put you in touch with someone who has been doing it and would like to help spread the effort.

Florida shows up on a lot of Top Ten lists. Petside.com has awarded their version of Top Ten Dog Parks in the U.S., a list on which the sunshine state appears twice: Dogwood Dog Park in Jacksonville topped the list and Happy Tails Park in Plantation rounded it off at #10.

Plans have begun for Walk for the Animals, a fundraiser for Humane Society of Broward County. The Walk will take place March 6, 2010, but you can start raising money now by asking friends and family to sponsor you in the event. For info about other ways you can get involved, go here.

Woohoo! Miami was just voted into the Top 5 Dog-Friendliest Cities in the U.S. by Food and Wine magazine. We know why.

Alachua County Humane Society has just opened a low cost spay/neuter clinic next to their 6th Street location. It's a tractor/trailer rig called "The Big Fix" and you can learn more here.

Do you enjoy visits with your dog to Northeast Florida's Huguenot Park/beach? This may be in jeopardy, so please write Nathan Rezeau at NLRezeau@coj.net and ask him to keep the current policy that welcomes dogs in the area.

Hooray for Walton County who will open a big, well-equipped new animal shelter in November. Officials say strays are now taken to Chipley, so having a closer facility should help more residents claim their missing pets.

We've been told Bonni Bakes, a restaurant in Village of the Arts in Bradenton, started offering doggie dining October 2. If you stop by, tell them we said howdy!

Lee County Domestic Animal Services is seeking animal lovers to participate in the Doggy Dash, a fundraising effort to benefit their Animal Care Trust Fund. The Doggy Dash will be held in Estero on December 5, 2009 from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm. If interested in participating alone, or as part of a team, go here.

Last month, I invited comments about Breed-Selected Bans. This came about as I pointed out the U.S. Marines may join the Army in banning certain dog breeds from installations and a couple of cities in Florida have already enacted them. RESULTS: With just a couple of exceptions, readers overwhelmingly exclaimed, "NO bans!"

This month's question: Has Michael Vick paid his debt and if not, what more should be do? Write me with your opinion.

Don't forget to follow us on Twitter where we're always dishing out pet-friendly "Tweets."

That's it for this month. Thanks for continuing to "tail along" with FloridaPets.net. Please drop us a note anytime you have a comment or suggestion, or would like us to feature your pet or a pet-friendly event in your area.