Dogs run free at more pup-focused parks

Associated Press

COLUMBUS

Lucy loves to run — unencumbered. Which explains her affinity for Pooch Playground, a 5-acre grassy area in Gahanna where the Australian shepherd is allowed to roam free.

“She’s a very-high-energy breed, and exercise on a leash doesn’t give her the proper opportunity to expend as much energy as she has,” said owner Jen Detwiler of Bexley, who recently watched 7-month-old Lucy roughhouse in mud puddles and race across the lawn with a half-dozen other four-legged friends.

Opened in 2008, Pooch Playground ranks among a growing number of fenced-in green spaces taking hold in the Midwest, said Ann Wennberg, president of Friends of Alum Creek Dog Park, a volunteer organization that helps operate the 5-year-old venue in Lewis Center.

Pup-centric parks have long abounded in western cities such as Denver and Seattle. More recently, the number in central Ohio has climbed, with about 15 in the region (most of them free).

“Park professionals ... have come to appreciate the role of dogs in Americans’ lives,” Wennberg said. “For many people, the dog is a family member.”

BarkPark in Delaware — the first Columbus-area dog park — opened in 2000 on 10 acres of fenced-in property owned by resident Marcia Perry Rhoades.

“At the time, there was no place for anyone to run their dogs off leash safely, and that was a real problem,” Rhoades said. “A quick walk around the block with Rover isn’t going to work if he’s a high-energy dog.”

BarkPark, open only on Saturdays, charges a $20 fee, with all proceeds benefiting animal-welfare organizations.

Several years after Rhoades blazed the trail, Westerville opened Brooks-edge Bark Park and Columbus introduced Big Walnut.

Among the newest such outlets are two completed in 2009 in Columbus (Wheeler Memorial Dog Park in Harrison West and Three Creeks Dog Park at Sycamore Fields) and one opened in 2010 (Scioto Audubon Dog Park).

Violet Township and Pickerington are scheduled to open a dog park in July; Worthington is to unveil one next spring.

Columbus soon will have a fifth, on the West Side.

“There are a number of areas in the city that have smaller yards, and dogs need a chance to really get some exercise,” said Kathy Spatz, park-development planner for the Columbus Recreation and Parks Department.

“Dog parks really provide an area for people and animals to socialize.”

Laura Karl of Upper Arlington — who often takes Reese, her chow-husky mix, to Northam Park during off-leash hours — prefers designated dog parks to all-purpose parks.

“At the dog park, when you go, you know everyone is a dog person,” she said. “So when she [Reese] jumps to be petted, it’s not a big deal.”