Posted on

Charles City Dog Park now all open

New signs announce that both areas of the Charles City Dog Park are now open and welcoming dogs and their owners. Pictured are, from left in the back, Layla Rivas, Carol Frye, Marcie Andrews and Teri Turner. Andrews, Frye and Turner are members of the Charles City Dog Park Committee; Turner is chairwoman. Rivas is Andrews’ granddaughter. With their neapolitan mastiff dogs in the front are Debbie Schwering and Kip Bouillon. Boullion, of Electronic Quill of Greene, donated the work and some of the materials for the signs and their installation. Press photo by Bob Steenson
New signs announce that both areas of the Charles City Dog Park are now open and welcoming dogs and their owners. Pictured are, from left in the back, Layla Rivas, Carol Frye, Marcie Andrews and Teri Turner. Andrews, Frye and Turner are members of the Charles City Dog Park Committee; Turner is chairwoman. Rivas is Andrews’ granddaughter. With their Neapolitan mastiff dogs in the front are Debbie Schwering and Kip Bouillon. Boullion, of Electronic Quill of Greene, donated the work and some of the materials for the signs and their installation.
Press photo by Bob Steenson
By Bob Steenson, bsteenson@charlescitypress.com

Calling all canines, big and small — the park is open!

Both sections of the Charles City Dog Park are now open at Waverly Hill Park, for smaller dogs and larger dogs.

“We have waste dispensers. We have agility equipment. It’s all fenced in,” said Carol Frye, a member of the Charles City Dog Park Committee.

Signage pointing out the dog park was installed recently at the entrance to Waverly Hill Park and visible along South Grand Avenue. Work and some materials for the signs was donated by Kip Bouillon of Electronic Quill, Greene.

The lower, smaller area of the park opened in the spring of 2016, and work on the larger, upper level continued through 2017 with fencing, exercise and training equipment installation and clearing brush and small volunteer trees.

Part of that clearing was accomplished last fall with a herd of about 40 goats that spent almost a week in the upper level, chewing their way through brush, weeds, saplings and anything within about 6 feet off the ground.

The city Parks Department also completed some grading and seeding in the fall.

Dogs of all size have been encouraged to use the lower level the first two years, but now that the upper level is open the lower level is intended primarily for smaller pets and the upper area for the bigger barkers.

The upper level offers plenty of hills and paths as well as some agility equipment to give larger dogs a workout.

Additional brush may be removed after it develops more fully and area foresters have a chance to look at it and determine what is invasive and what should be left to help stop erosion, Frye said.

The park started through donations and grants from area businesses, Girl Scouts, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Charles City Hotel/Motel Tax Fund, as well as other business, group and private donations.

Although the entire dog park is now open, every day from dusk to dawn, the Dog Park Committee is still raising funds to install seating and for regular maintenance and upkeep.

“We’d like some benches,” said Frye. “We’d go with the same benches that the city is using in other parks, because this is a city park, but to install a bench with the cement is $1,000.”

Anyone interested in making a tax-deductible donation to the non-profit organization can send a check to the Charles City Dog Park Fund account at First Security Bank and Trust, Frye said.

 

Social Share

LATEST NEWS