Springtime will mean a waggier time of frolicking in the park for all of man’s best friends in Miami Township. Opening on a portion of land in the Miami Meadows Park, a new “Bark Park” will give dogs a chance to run and play without the fetters of a leash.
“This is part of a bigger park, we didn’t just build a ‘bark park,'” said Miami Township Administrator David Duckworth. “It’s located in Miami Meadows Park. It is located at the end of the main drive into the park.”
The new facility will be located on a few acres of unused land and will feature fenced areas for dogs to run. Dogs will still be welcome in other areas of the park, or in other township parks, but must be kept on leashes while outside of the fenced area. The decision to build the facility came after years of requests by dog owners in the township.
“We don’t have any prohibition against people walking their dogs,” said Duckworth. “Over the past five to seven years, we’ve had numerous people call. I’ve probably fielded over 100 calls wanting to know if we were going to do something for dogs, specifically a dog park. We had about three acres of surplus land at Miami Meadows that we had no plans for, and it happens to be suited perfectly for a fenced-in dog park.”