Houston opens new “paw-some” dog park

Furry friends and their humans camping, visiting, and living in Houston now have a new place to run and socialize with other dogs as Houston officially opened it’s yet-to-be-named dog park this past weekend.

“This has been a long time coming,” said Houston Mayor Virgie Thompson at the park opening.

Located within the Little Su Campground, the park had been discussed for several years before finally becoming a reality.

“My inspiration was when my granddaughter was bit by a dog in the campgrounds, it became a goal of mine since then. I brought it up to chief when he was chair (of the Houston Parks and Recreation Commission). The city has a leash law, therefore which includes the campground. Pets need to exercise just like we do. Giving the campers a place for their pet to run free and burn stink off was my goal,” said Mayor Thompson about the park.

From there, it was discussed and recommended by the Parks and Rec Commission and Public Works spearheaded the project from there.

“Residents often request an off-leash dog park in the city, and this will be a great asset not just to them but also to every visitor of the Little Susitna River Campground,” said Houston Parks and Recreation Chair Christian Hartley.

The project was fully funded by campers who visit the park. The campground has its own revenue. “This revenue should be to make peoples visit more enjoyable. It’s on its own budget, not within the city budget, which also covers the restrooms and upkeep, the tree trimming, and other maintenance costs to the park,” explained Mayor Thompson.

The project was overseen by Public Works Director George Thompson as one of his first projects when taking over the position earlier this summer.

The 100-foot by 80-foot fenced structure features heavy-duty truck tries for dogs to use as agility training, or as seen at the opening, for dogs to climb and attempt to chew.

“The tires were collected by the city, derelict places around the city that we collected, but don’t go to anything we own, so we grabbed them up and put them to use here,” said Thompson.

He went on to say that even before the grand opening that dogs have been taking advantage of the park and there has been an improvement to the campground.

Of course, there is human training for the furry friends to play and use the park, including leashing dogs entering and exiting the park, cleaning up doggie waste, and owners must be remain within the park while visiting. So doggies, get your humans ready.

One dog that came to the grand opening was Baxter, who, judging by his non-stop tail wagging, gave the park 4 paws up.

While the rainy weather kept some away, an Alaska State Troopers K-9 unit was on hand and some humans braved the elements to bring their dogs out.

Trooper Jacob Abbott and his K-9, Kimmik, came out for a visit. While the 6 year-old Belgian Mal wasn’t able to display his agility, the trooper was able to bring Kimmik out and explain the benefits of the AST K-9 units and what his dog provides to the community.

“He’s a dual purpose dog, trained in drug detection and patrol work,” Abbott said, before explaining the breadth of duties his, and other K-9 dogs are capable of performing when called into action.

“Patrol work is going to include him being able to do building searches, tracking of suspects and lost persons, and evidence searches.” Abbott says that Kimmik is able to go into a field and find something like a set of keys, for example, that still contains relatively fresh human scents on it, before calling attention for AST for further examination.

Kimmik is also able to detect heroin, methamphetamine, and other substances as needed, though Abbott explains that his dog is not yet imprinted on fentanyl.

While it tough to resist petting and playing with Kimmik, informing residents of what a role the K-9s bring to the community seemed a welcome relief to the visitors.

Residents were also able to register their animals, and name the park.

Next up for the campground is to add a fenced area and a little kids’ playground within so they can be safe. It is planned to be right next to the existing playground.