A Place to Unleash Their Inner Puppies

They’re fittingly tagged Bark Park, Pooch Park, Best Friends Park and Central Bark in cities across Orange County. And these fenced patches of land catering to canines and their owners have become so popular that five more communities are starting them.

“As many cities that can find a spot to build a dog park would certainly help us,” said Ken Montgomery, director of public works for Laguna Niguel, which opened Pooch Park three years ago.

The one-acre enclosure has become a haven for pet owners, he said. “People come from 20 miles away . . . because they have no other place to go.”

For many years, Laguna Beach, Costa Mesa and Huntington Beach have had dog-friendly fenced areas where owners can let their pets play off leash.

Irvine will join their ranks when Central Bark debuts Oct. 21. Laguna Woods and Orange recently agreed to set aside land for dog parks. Even unincorporated Aliso Viejo and Coto de Caza have included an area for dogs in their developing communities.

“By having a location where dogs can run free, we don’t have dogs running loose in our other parks,” said Donna Theriault, management analyst for Costa Mesa, which opened Bark Park six years ago. “It makes our other parks more enjoyable.” Half of the county’s dog parks are supported by nonprofit organizations created by volunteers and park users. That decreases the city’s liability and helps pay for the upkeep of and costs of opening such high maintenance lots.

The Costa Mesa Bark Park Volunteer Foundation also uses volunteers to police and clean the park, Theriault said.

“Cities don’t have enough manpower and resources to keep such specific-use facilities,” she said. “We need outside help or it just wouldn’t be here.”

The 1.8-acre Best Friends Park in Huntington Beach has been maintained by park users since it opened five years ago, said Rick Ringel, president of the Best Friends Dog Park Foundation. The nonprofit corporation formed last year to fund the $20,000 yearly budget needed to refill the bag dispensers, print the park newsletter and clean the park.

“The corporation really does most of the work because the city doesn’t want the responsibility,” said Ringel, who spends up to six hours a day at the park with a group of dogs he doggy-sits and his 3-year-old golden retriever, Tiger. “Someone from the board of directors is here almost all of the time.”

The Orange Dog Park Assn. gained permission last month to turn two acres of a city park into a fenced canine gathering spot, but only if the association funds and maintains the park.

Association co-organizer Rick Cryder said the group has raised more than $8,000 for the park, but will need at least double that to begin construction.

“I’m really excited about it,” said Cryder, who owns a 3 1/2-year-old German shepherd named Tucker. “As small as these yards are in California, dogs need a place to run. I have to drive 25 minutes to take him to a dog park, but it’s like heaven for him.”

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Huntington Beach resident Margie Erickson said her dog, Mickee, wakes her every Friday morning for the weekly trip to Best Friends Park.

“She knows when it’s Friday,” Erickson said. “She’s got a huge yard, but she loves to come here and play.”

Mickee gets her exercise and learns to socialize with other dogs while at the park, Erickson said.

“They’re just people with four legs and fur,” she said. “They need to be together.”

Laguna Beach veterinarian John Hamil said a socialized dog is a better-behaved dog.

“But people need to know their dog and what kind of dogs are inside the park,” said Hamil, who has worked at Canyon Animal Hospital for 23 years. “Keep the leash on and stand outside the park for a little while. If you get bad vibrations, turn around and go home.”

Pet owners need to be wary of aggressive dogs and dogs that are coughing or look sick, and they should try to find parks that separate large from small dogs. Hamil said he’s treated a few dogs with bite wounds and lacerations after fights at the nearby Laguna Beach Dog Park, but those incidents are not the norm.

Pooch Park and Best Friends Park are using a mulch ground covering for easier and cheaper cleanup. Hamil said cities that use wood chips may cut down on infections and parasites that can linger in moist soil.

Montgomery said Pooch Park switched to wood chips about a year ago after dogs continued to tear up the turf.

“It’s really hard to keep grass intact,” Montgomery said. “The dogs were also getting extremely dirty and there were muddy areas. We had to create a dog washing station, it got so bad.”

Since the switch, the park has been easier to clean and park users are happier, Montgomery said.

However, park users at Costa Mesa’s Bark Park fought against the city’s wishes to switch to a mulch covering. Opponents said the chips get stuck in the dogs’ paws and could cause splinters.

The city agreed to pick up the $150,000 renovation tab if the park foundation paid for the planting and upkeep of the new turf. The park will reopen in about 90 days, Theriault said.

Another phenomenon inside dog parks is the social interaction between the dog owners. Garden Grove resident Janet Hausauer and her dog, Valley, drive to Best Friends Park every weekday to meet with five other dog owners and their dogs.

“We started meeting since the time they were old enough to come here and play,” Hausauer said. “It’s a social thing. It’s nice to share information about vets and food, and its just fun to talk about our dogs.”

Dog park users all have something in common--wanting what’s best for their pets, Ringel said.

“We’re trying to read their minds and see what they want,” Ringel said. “I think we’re being successful.”