Visitors say the effects of the red tide are pushing them away from the newly opened beaches.

BONITA SPRINGS, Florida. Not even a dog could escape the smell of the red tide at Dog Beach in Bonita Springs on Thursday.

Lee County Parks and Recreation has announced that access to Dog and Boca Grande Beach has reopened to the public.

These places are open seven days a week, from dawn to dusk.

Matt and Charlie were visiting from out of town when Fox 4 caught up with them as they were walking out to the dog beach.

“As soon as I opened that window, I held it up and said, ‘We’re not going to the beach today,’” Charlie said.

On Thursday, the entrance to dog beach was covered in dead fish and what Matt described as rotten dead fish soup.

Northeast Veterinary Clinic, located in St. Petersburg, has this advice regarding red tides and pets:

• If you live near a beach, bring pets inside during flowering to prevent respiratory irritation.
• Keep dogs away from dead fish.
• Avoid contact with sea foam, which may have a red tide.
• Bathe your dog as soon as possible if he goes swimming, as most of them will lick their coat after bathing, absorbing all the toxins in their coat.
• If you live near water, don’t let your dog out unsupervised.
• Eating marine animals or water affected by red tide can cause serious illness. Seek immediate medical attention and inform your veterinarian.

According to other families on the beach, the influence of the red tide was almost not felt at Fort Myers Beach.

“We were at Bunche Beach two days ago and it was full of dead fish,” said one person on the beach.

Others told Fox 4 that earlier this week, Fort Myers Beach had a lot of dead fish along its shoreline.

“It was pretty bad at the beginning of the week, it was full of fish. Today is not so bad,” said one person walking along the beach.

This problem is well known and even being considered by scientists at the University of the Gulf Coast in Florida.

On Wednesday, the researchers were seven miles from the coastline, where they were setting up artificial reefs to study the impact of the Red Tides.

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