"Woof-Thank-Woof-You!" bark all the Cottage Grove dogs, as they give the new off-leash bark park four paws up and a tail wag! The park is a gift to the community, courtesy of the Nisewander family.
 
The soon to be pup-ular location is the grass field owned by Steve and Mary which is behind their Lu Lu's Car Wash at 1104 E. Main Street, in Cottage Grove, Oregon.
 
"I kept reading in the Cottage Grove Sentinel editorials," said Steve, "about residents wanting a dog park. I thought, 'Hey, I mow the big field behind the car wash and it might be a solution for the residents, their dogs and mine!'
 
I was surprised how fast things moved. I contacted City Hall about my idea and they ‘caught the ball’.  Even though the park is privately owned, the city offered to carry the insurance and put up signs to create a public dog park. 

Every day that I am working on the park I see dozens of dogs strolling by with their owners.  They approach me and make ‘no bones’ about how excited they are to see the park coming together.  We are hoping to have it up and running with its proper entrance/exit safety gates by June and the police will monitor the park on their patrols.
 
Creating the park is a community effort.  I had the land, Michael Praegitzer from National Construction (also another animal lover) drilled the first 36 holes for the fencing at the north and south ends of the park with gates. Evan Follett, one  of our son's high school friends, helped me set the posts."
 
The car wash is open 24 hours a day, but the dog park is open from dawn to dusk.  There are 25,300 square feet of open space for your dog to socialize and two entrances into the park. One  is at the car wash and the other is next to the Row River Trailhead, at the public parking lot on N. 12th Street, behind the Post Office. The city is supplying street signage to direct traffic to the parking lot and park’s rules within the park.
 
Currently, it is a dog park for all sizes, but Steve is considering designating a few hours a day for small dogs only.
 
It is important for humans to "go" before you come, since the only available toilets are at Coiner and Bohemia Parks.
 
Steve and Mary have another reason to be excited about their park. Their 100 pound, five-year-old, rescued Malamute, Thor, could use some friends.
 
"We changed his name to Thor," said Mary, "when we adopted him, because we wanted him to leave his old life behind and have a new self-image in his new life."
 
Thor must be as excited about the park as his humans!
 
"Thor is a big dog," said Steve, "and a breed that is used to running in packs and socializing.  Imagine his joy at having a new pack to play and romp with every day when he comes to 'help' me maintain the car wash! It is healthy for dogs' spirits and physical health to exercise, so we feel he and all his new friends and he will be very happy."
 
The parks are friendly and a paws-itive asset to the community. As a non-dog owner, I stop by and visit them to meet interesting people and for the fun! They are a place to meet new friends, our neighbors and discuss the wonders and craziness of dog ownership.
 
Come to Lu Lu's Dog Park and enjoy others smiling and laughing, as canines happily greet each other, play, sniff and run with joyful abandon.  Thank you to Steve and Mary for creating this wonderful gift to our community.
 
"We hope the community and their dogs love the dog park," adds Steve.

Steve will be including a big bin of dog balls, chew ropes and frisbees.  The park also has a picnic table so pet parents can rest while their dogs play. If you have extras dog "things" to donate or want to offer paws-itive suggestions on making this the park of your dog's dreams, please email Steve at nisewander53@gmail.com

Mary Ellen's Silver Persians swam their way into readers and viewer's hearts! They have appeared in International magazines and newspapers around the world. (France, England, Canada, China, Germany, USA, etc.)

Also, several National and International TV shows featured the swimming felines teaching pet-water-safety. And their furry faces appeared on a line of shirts.