Dog

A 17-year-old entrepreneur believes he's found a way to replace those paper permits that allow pooches onto Boca's popular Dog Bark Beach.

Soon after the beach opened Dec. 13, Nicholas Bourdon started to think of ways to make the beach passes easier to use.

Bourdon brought his pitch to the City Council last week, the first meeting since Boca's newest amenity debuted. For $3 a tag, his plan would allow Boca to issue permits that resist bacteria, scratches and don't ever get lost - because they would go around the dog's neck.

Bourdon's proposed dog tag is coated to eliminate that annoying jingle dog tags often have.

'I like to think that in Boca we do things better,' he told the City Council.

No debate from the City Council there.

'With several people at my house, different people take the dog to the beach and it's hard to know where the permit is at all times,' continued Bourdon, who is the son of Fabien and Elena Bourdon. 'And it's too big to fit in your wallet, especially with the protective case on it.'

Council members were impressed.

After the Boca Raton High School junior told Mayor Susan Whelchel that no, he had not started his own business yet, the mayor, a former high school teacher, said: 'Quit that school and get on out there and make some money.'

Bourden's business career actually began at 12, when he sold organic vegetables with his sister, Gabriella.

Since then he's sold ringtones, used textbooks, iPhone repair and even a iPhone repair product to help do-it-yourself iPhone fixers.

Bourdon loves the idea of starting his own business, any business, but the idea of getting Boca to adopt a dog tag for its beach permit hits a particularly sweet spot for him. Having a place for his Chesapeake Bay retriever Chessie to work off energy has been a boon, he said.

So far, Boca has sold 533 resident and seven nonresident passes to the dog beach in the 41 days the passes have been on sale.

'She likes to run around and socialize with the other dogs,' Bourdon said, patting Chessie on her meaty back. 'She needs the exercise.'

The City Council will be evaluating whether the dog beach project will become a permanent amenity in May. Councilwoman Susan Haynie, who proposed the idea, said she's hearing good things about it - and loves the idea of having a dog beach pass that's easier for residents to have handy.

So far, only two incidents of doggie misdemeanors have been reported on the beach.

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