Palm Bay Unleashes Dog Park

[MazieDog]

floridatoday.com

PALM BAY - A 4-month-old beagle named Max got a puppy-sized jump on the rest of South Brevard's four-legged crowd Tuesday morning, taking the first official run around the county's newest off-leash dog park.

Palm Bay Regional Park's Dog Park opened at 8:30 a.m., with Max taking a romp in the mud. Palm Bay joins Wickham and Lori Wilson parks as the only places where pooches can legally wag their tails, bark at strangers and frolic with their four-legged friends in public places. Some other parks allow dogs on short leashes, but the beaches prohibit dogs altogether.

Proof of current annual shots and county tags are required for admission, as is a daily fee of $2 or $3 or annual membership in the dog parks, which starts at $150.

Max's owner, Park Supervisor Rick Schuh, had the scoop on the grand opening.

"I wasn't really planning on him being the first dog, but I'm off work today so I thought I would bring him over," Schuh said.

Max played in a one-acre compound for smaller dogs. A two-acre area for large dogs is still being planted with grass seed and is expected to open July 1. Until then, the large and small dogs will alternate use of the smaller space.

"There is a demand out here in Palm Bay, and that's why we built the facility," said park maintenance supervisor Jerry Gust. "Dogs are prohibited in a lot of places because of the urbanization of our area."

More dog parks are planned for the Titusville and Merritt Island areas, as well, pending funding in a tight budget year. At least 25 Florida cities offer dog parks, according to the Web site dogfriendly.com.

"There is a trend nationwide in parks and recreation to have dog parks," said Cheryl Page, assistant director of Brevard County Parks and Recreation. "We don't allow dogs in the park just to be in the park, but you can take the dog to the dog parks, where they can have fun."

Statistics show that as of February, the two off-leash dog parks had 1,800 visitors and 880 memberships. That earned at least $135,600 for the county.

Page said an off-leash dog park costs about $80,000 a year to run and maintain, with about $70,000 of that going for staffing.

Employees at each park collect fees, pick up poop, maintain equipment and mediate disagreements between dog owners. Parks and Recreation Director Don Lusk said initially the dog parks were unsupervised, but that didn't work.

"It was sort of like kids going to a park," he said, noting that playgrounds are not supervised.

Fees and memberships pay for the staffers' salaries.

Brevard Animal Recreation Coalition leader Stephanie Rosemeyer, who helped open the Wickham Park dog park, said the owners she has seen are dedicated to their animals.

"It kind of surprised me at first, but there are some of them that will sit in the rain all day with their dogs," she said.

It was at the Wickham Park facility recently that Dozer, a 7-month-old English bulldog, could be found lolling in the cool water of a blue plastic kiddy pool.

"He loves it, " said Dozer's co-owner, Chris Siebeneichen, a school teacher. "And it's a stress reliever for me."

Several dog owners have a regular Thursday afternoon date at Wickham Park. Margie Shavitz brings her caramel and white Australian shepherd Malibu to run, play and socialize with other dogs.

"She's very active," Shavitz said, adding that Malibu doesn't just play with the other dogs. "She's a people dog. She loves people."

The dog park isn't just for dogs. Denise Heller brings her three children about every other week.

"The kids love to come look at the dogs," said Heller as her daughters patted a caramel and white Australian shepherd named Malibu through the fence. "We can't leave Wickham Park without coming to the dog park."