Dog park and Dog exercise area

Onalaska was planning a dog exercise area, and they could hardly wait.

The Lewtons would take their dogs to the La Crosse dog park occasionally for an off-leash romp, but they said the park is only about the size of somebody’s back yard. The planned Onalaska dog park was a lot larger, roughly an acre, situated on the south end of Van Riper Park, with a parking lot accessible off Kramer Road.

So they kept checking in at the city’s recreation department at City Hall to find out when the dog park would be ready. Last week, they finally got the answer they were looking for and signed up immediately — the first residents to get their dog park permits.

The Lewtons have two corgis, Moose and Fox, both 8.5 years old and both trained pet therapy dogs. They also recently adopted a 2-year-old pitbull terrier mix called Sugar from the humane society. The corgis don’t have a burning need to run, but the pitbull loves to chase balls, Linda Lewton said, so it was appropriate that she was the first one to get a permit.

The annual permit cost the Lewtons $12, with the additional permits for the corgis costing $5 each. Dan Wick, the city’s parks and recreation director, said six or seven people have signed up for the annual permit, and at least a couple people opted to pay the $2 daily permit cost. There’s a pay box at the dog park — it’s on the honor system.

Cleaning up after the dogs also is on the honor system, although there is a dispenser filled with plastic bags at the dog park to make it easier for pet owners.

Wick said the city looked to the Dane County dog parks as a model. The project was pushed to the back burner for a couple years because of budget constraints, but now it’s ready and he thinks it will be popular.

“The city has a lot of dog owners,” he said. “Hopefully, a lot of people will utilize it.”

Although the fence will safely contain most dogs, Wick said people need to keep a close eye on their dogs. “It’s not meant for people to drop their dogs off there and come back after work,” he said.

The Lewtons used the park a couple times in the first week and plan to be regular visitors. One thing Lewton likes is all the trees in the park. They provide shade on a hot day. Plus, she said, “having two male dogs, they love trees.”

There’s also a fire hydrant inside the fenced area