Canines and humans seem to populate the beach in equal numbers. (AP Photo/Thomas Watkins)

Julie Rojas washes the sand and saltwater off her Maltese dog Gizmo at Ocean Beach Dog Wash next to Dog Beach. (AP Photo/Thomas Watkins)

If dogs were to rise up and create their own republic, this is how it might look.

Here on the beach there are dozens, if not hundreds, of dogs. The canine crew has members of all shapes and sizes, from two-pound Chihuahuas to 200-pound Great Danes. They run, bark, slobber and drool in the sand. And not a leash in sight.

It's a blazing hot June day at San Diego's oddest stretch of sand: Dog Beach.

Many of the animals play in the waves crashing into shore, but some -- Labradors mostly -- are far out in the ocean, keeping up with their surfing or boogie-boarding owners.

Several dogs have dug shallow pits in the sand and cool off as their owners sunbathe; others are sniffing seaweed.

"She loves it," says Robert Klump, who has driven about 25 minutes from his home in National City to let his pet, Chacha, a Portuguese water dog, enjoy the ocean. "She's right in her element, she could not be happier."

Chacha, whose breed was created to help fishermen gather nets in the open ocean, seems to agree and bounds into the breaking surf.

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It's hard to get an exact number, but Dog Beach is enjoyed by thousands of canines. Jane Donley, who runs Friends of Dog Beach, an informal group of about 400 that meets periodically to socialize and clean up poop, estimates some 10,000 dogs are taken to the beach each week in the summer, many coming from as far afield as Palm Springs and Orange County.

Dog Beach is part of the Ocean Beach community, a hippy oasis in a militarized zone, flanked to the south and the east by Naval and Marine bases. The town is famed for its surfer culture and laid-back vibe; San Diego's only organic food co-operative is here, and an attempt to open up a Starbucks was shot down.

City residents informally used Dog Beach as far back as the 1940s, but it was officially recognized in 1972 when the city of San Diego designated what was then a fairly polluted strip of sand and sea by the mouth of the San Diego River as a leash-free area.

Donley says the community has taken Dog Beach under its wing, with local residents -- including some who don't own dogs -- volunteering to scoop poop from the sand. Businesses donate some of the 20,000 plastic waste bags placed in eight different dispensers across the 38-acre beach each week.

Although the effort keeps the sand pretty much poop-free, it's not without hazards. The beach is frequently posted for bacteria, and dog feces is the most obvious cause.

"We want to keep it as clean as possible," says Donley, who owns three dogs, the newest of which is a Hurricane Katrina orphan. "It's an investment for us and our future."

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Donley runs Ocean Beach Dog Wash, a canine clean-up parlor located on Voltaire Street, which leads to the beach. She charges owners $10 to wash the sand and saltwater from their pets. There's also a daytime boarding kennel in the area, a food suppliers, several dog sitters and another dog wash.

Dave Martin, who runs Shades Oceanside Bistro, even lets dogs sit on the patio of his restaurant and dine with their owners. He also sits on the Town Council's Dog Beach Committee. "There's nothing better than going out on the beach and playing with your dog," he says.

Back on the beach, hundreds of dogs and their owners would seem to agree.

"It's a good thing for all the dog owners," says Joe Nasca, a 30-year resident of Ocean Beach who recently moved to Belize with his retriever mix Sidney. "It's a good relationship between man and nature. We need more of that."

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asap contributor Thomas Watkins is an AP reporter in San Diego.

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