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Two parks prove so popular with pets and their people that St. Petersburg makes plans for three more.
By KWESI WREKON OBENG
© St. Petersburg Times, published July 14, 2002
ST. PETERSBURG -- Dog parks have graduated from experiment to mainstay.
As the Coquina Key facility approaches its first birthday, the city is planning three more dog runs.
"I've made some good friends since I started bringing my dog here and Coquina Key Dog Park," said David Jones, owner of an 85-pound red Doberman named Loki, who took off in a sprint to join his canine pals at Crescent Lake.
Joe and Monica Goaier take their 125-pound Rottweilers to Coquina Key so the dogs can learn to relate better to their neighbors and five grandchildren.
"We wanted our dogs to exercise, interact with other dogs and get used to people. We wanted them to be friendly," Joe Goaier said.
"We bring them to this park at least once a week, but it has transformed our dogs so much. As you can see, they are (now) very friendly," Monica said, while the huge dogs ran, laid on their backside and played with other dogs in the park.
Coquina Key's dog run opened in July 2001. Crescent Lake opened soon after. With the success of the two pilot parks, Leisure Services Administrator Lee Metzger said the city will develop three more facilities: North Shore, 901 North Shore Drive NE; Lake Vista, 1401 62nd Ave. S; and Walter Fuller, 7891 26th Ave. N.
Metzger said the city has set aside $99,000 for the construction of the three dog parks, and additional money has been set aside to maintain them for the next 10 years.