Top Ten Dog Parks of 2009

The results are in, the votes have been tallied and the accountant with the briefcase chained to his wrist has arrived...Dog Fancy magazine has named the nation's top 10 dogs parks for 2009. Don't worry: if you don't see your local park on the list, there's always next year! Over the next 12 months, organize the people who use your dog park and work together to improve Fido's play place. That's how you can get something done for local dogs, and build up the foundation of your community at the same time!


For ideas, check out the winning park: Freedom Bark Park in Lovell, Indiana. This park exists solely because the town joined together and worked hard to realize a doggy dream. Volunteers donated more than 2,700 hours of service to build the park. Everyone did their part. Farmers cleared the land and planted grass seeds and a high-school art teacher painted a decorative fire hydrant.


"I would go to the roofing store in our town to buy shingles for our shelters, and the salesmen would offer to come after work to help roof the shelters," says Roberta T., president of the Freedom Bark Park Committee. What's even more amazing is that the park was built entirely with donations. And what a fine job these dedicated dog people did. The park boasts:

• a solar powered pump which supplies drinking water
• a tunnel
• biodegradable poop bags
• shelter to protect everyone from bad weather
• doggy digging areas
• shade trees
• recycled rubber mulch on the walkways.

Now that you know what's possible, improve your park and maybe you'll see it in next year's top ten!