Doggie Dish: Dog Park Review
There is a major shortage of dog parks in Washington DC; I'm getting down and dirty with the doggies to review DC's Dog Parks! by Brea Ellis
In the Petworth neighborhood you'll find The Greenspace at 11th and Park Road. If you're coming from NW take 13th Street and make a left on Monroe, then go about two blocks and the park is on your right at the corner of 11th & Park Road. The main entrance to the park is on the 11th Street side in between the poop bag dispensers and trash cans; there is also an entrance on Park Road near the beginning of the fence. Ignore posted notices about maintaining a 2-lock system, that information is for WMATA who also uses the park to house some equipment.
My dog had a great time playing with a friendly four month-old Pekingese mix who stopped by, but most parks require dogs be older than that although the DC Dept. of Parks and Rec make no mention of age in their Dog Park rules and regulations .
The park has a few downsides; first it looks like "the yard" at a doggie prison... luckily no one got shanked, secondly the fence is very tall but it starts about a foot off the ground so dogs under 30lbs can easily exit the dog park at their leisure and run into traffic; This is especially problematic when a dog walks by outside of the park. There were no poop bags in the dispensers when I visited and there is poop EVERYWHERE!
As I mentioned before, the park also houses some Metro equipment so there is a small section fenced off that houses generators, etc. there is a huge gap in that fence large enough for a medium sized dog to squeeze through, but not large enough for it's owner to retrieve it. Also there is about a yard of grating in the middle of the park that dogs try to avoid when they are romping around and every now and then the train goes by and grumbles underneath.
There are some shaded areas for pets and owners to stay out of the sun and while there is no sitting area, people have left plastic chairs and an old wooden table for patrons to use. There are also lots of tennis balls and toys lying around.
I visited the park at 1pm on a Monday and the smell of chocolate chip cookies and the sound of headbanger music were both wafting from the house next door to the park. More dogs walked by the park than visited the park while I was there, and most people starred at the park and seemed a bit confused about how to get in. This park could use a little PR and TLC. My recommendations would be:
1. Section off the Metro area from the dog park area with a fence and separate entrance; the double lock sign deters people who think they need a key to enter. Put a fence or bushes around the grated area.
2. Extend the fence down to the ground so no pups can escape.
3. Clearly identify both entrances with a sign announcing the name the Dog Park.
4. Provide 2-3 stone benches for pet owners.
Check out my other dog park reviews:
Wheaton Regional dog park here
Follow my Westie Puppy on Twitter! www.twitter.com/frommybradberry
In the Petworth neighborhood you'll find The Greenspace at 11th and Park Road. If you're coming from NW take 13th Street and make a left on Monroe, then go about two blocks and the park is on your right at the corner of 11th & Park Road. The main entrance to the park is on the 11th Street side in between the poop bag dispensers and trash cans; there is also an entrance on Park Road near the beginning of the fence. Ignore posted notices about maintaining a 2-lock system, that information is for WMATA who also uses the park to house some equipment.
My dog had a great time playing with a friendly four month-old Pekingese mix who stopped by, but most parks require dogs be older than that although the DC Dept. of Parks and Rec make no mention of age in their Dog Park rules and regulations .
The park has a few downsides; first it looks like "the yard" at a doggie prison... luckily no one got shanked, secondly the fence is very tall but it starts about a foot off the ground so dogs under 30lbs can easily exit the dog park at their leisure and run into traffic; This is especially problematic when a dog walks by outside of the park. There were no poop bags in the dispensers when I visited and there is poop EVERYWHERE!
As I mentioned before, the park also houses some Metro equipment so there is a small section fenced off that houses generators, etc. there is a huge gap in that fence large enough for a medium sized dog to squeeze through, but not large enough for it's owner to retrieve it. Also there is about a yard of grating in the middle of the park that dogs try to avoid when they are romping around and every now and then the train goes by and grumbles underneath.
There are some shaded areas for pets and owners to stay out of the sun and while there is no sitting area, people have left plastic chairs and an old wooden table for patrons to use. There are also lots of tennis balls and toys lying around.
I visited the park at 1pm on a Monday and the smell of chocolate chip cookies and the sound of headbanger music were both wafting from the house next door to the park. More dogs walked by the park than visited the park while I was there, and most people starred at the park and seemed a bit confused about how to get in. This park could use a little PR and TLC. My recommendations would be:
1. Section off the Metro area from the dog park area with a fence and separate entrance; the double lock sign deters people who think they need a key to enter. Put a fence or bushes around the grated area.
2. Extend the fence down to the ground so no pups can escape.
3. Clearly identify both entrances with a sign announcing the name the Dog Park.
4. Provide 2-3 stone benches for pet owners.
Check out my other dog park reviews:
Wheaton Regional dog park here
Follow my Westie Puppy on Twitter! www.twitter.com/frommybradberry
I have to go to this, even though I have no dog. I love dogs the way that 30+ singletons love babies and coo over the new baby smell and look at babies and have their uteri skip a beat. Seriously--I see a papillon in the elevator in my building and I go to pieces. I'm not insane, I swear to god.
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