Looking for a sense of community in an increasingly impersonal world? Pining for person to person connection in a high-rise apartment building? Nostalgic for The Way We Were? Well, get yourself to an off-leash dog beach.

There’s a feel of carnival in the air as dogs pour out of back seats and wriggle their way around the tailgates of vans and station wagons. Families, loaded up with folding chairs, carry coolers and tubs filled with rawhide bones and aluminum watering bowls.

The dogs lead the individual parades with wagging tails and smiling faces. If you listen, you’ll hear them yell V A C A T I O N.

There is instant camaraderie. Barkley, the Dalmatian, rushes up to the Max, the Boxer, and invites him to join him for a swim. Thor, the squat little bull dog, chases Louise, the well-groomed poodle. A trio of Golden Retrievers rush into the surf like a team of horses and a pair of mixed breeds chase after sticks thrown into the waves.

There is a lot of dog talk. And grinning. And admiring gazes. And understanding and appreciation. Welcome to the United Nation of Dogs, not a bad place to visit.