Encino : Dog Park Timetable Strays Bit Off Course

Canine ecstasy is just around the corner, officials say.

Groundbreaking for the city’s third, and largest, off-leash dog exercise area is tentatively scheduled for late February or early March, said a spokesman for Los Angeles City Councilwoman Laura Chick, in whose district the park would be built.

The 9.7-acre park, where dogs will be allowed to frolic unfettered, will be built at the corner of White Oak Avenue and Victory Boulevard inside the Sepulveda Basin, and will cost about $300,000, according to officials from the Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks.

Late last year, officials had said groundbreaking would take place in early January. This week, officials said scheduling difficulties delayed the start of construction.

“There are no problems, everything is set, it’s just a matter of getting everybody together” for the ceremony, said Eric Rose, a spokesman for Chick.

Will Harley, the motorcycle-riding dog from Woodland Hills be there?

Will Farley, the hound who ran for mayor of Sunland-Tujunga be there?

Officials are still firming up the guest list. But cooped-up canines everywhere will be happy to learn that the park--which will include a fenced-off, 5-acre dog exercise area skirted by a 50-foot buffer zone of grass and shrubs--should be complete by the end of the year.

The project will be paid for by voter-approved park improvement funds and contributions from a major pet food company.

The other two dog parks maintained by the city are a 3.7-acre commons off Mulholland Drive in Studio City and a one-acre pilot project on a hill at Silver Lake Recreation Center.