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Happily for some, park has gone to the dogs

The city gets its third dog park, this time at Gadsden Park on S MacDill Avenue, and it's a howling success.

Listen up canines, this park is for you.

Gadsden Park Dog Park opened this week at 6901 S MacDill Ave., just outside MacDill Air Force Base.

The 2-acre facility has all the amenities dogs love. Big oak trees. Yards of soft Bahia grass. Drinking water fountains.

It also has people pleasures, among them, picnic benches and play areas.

This park has three sections, all enclosed by a 4-foot, black chain fence.

One section will be for small dogs; another, for large dogs.

The third area will be vacant, rotated out of use to allow the grass time to grow back and to make sure the park doesn't become one big dirt pit.

Gadsden's dog park has a double-gated entrance and waste collection supplies.

Park hours are from sunrise to sunset.

Linda J. Carlo, spokeswoman for the recreation department, said creating dog parks is a goal of the city.

Many cities nationwide are doing it, she said.

The city already operates two other dog parks that are very popular: Al Lopez Park, 4810 N. Himes Ave., and a dog beach on Davis Islands.

There's one more planned for Rowlett Park in east Tampa.

That one will open in 2004, said Carlo.

- For more information, please contact the City of Tampa Parks and Recreation Department at 931-2121.