By Beth Sluys
Northside News

During this pandemic, I have been walking in Warner Park, especially along the dog park area. I do not own a dog but always enjoy watching the dogs racing about in the fenced area of the park. I thought it would be fun to meet a few dog owners and their dogs.

I met up with Betsy Doherty and her dog Dune to share a walk in the park on a balmy 32-degree day. We made our way through the gates — a sort of “vapor lock” to ensure a secure entrance into the loose dog area — and eventually met several other dogs and their humans.

“I like bringing Dune to the dog park so he can be with other dogs in an off-leash environment. He likes to meet other dogs. He tends to be shy, but really enjoys running in the park and especially likes the opportunity to swim when the weather is warm,” said Doherty. While she also walks Dune in her neighborhood, she enjoys the natural area of the dog park and walking with Dune without the leash.

As we rounded the path near the lagoon, we came across Abbey Bongiorno and Norman, her French bulldog. “Norman is my pandemic dog,” said Bongiorno. “I adopted him in 2020 and he is great company for me. He loves coming to the park. It’s wonderful to be here to see the dogs and their owners playing and having fun.” After retrieving Dune’s leash from Norman’s mouth, Betsy and I continued our adventure.

We meandered along the path and met Caden Howell with an adorable Dachshund in a red coat named “Action” Jackson and a black Labrador mix named Bella “The Ball,” who had a soggy tennis ball in her mouth. “I bring my dogs to other dog parks as well but prefer to bring them to this park in the winter months as it seems to be more protected from the wind,” said Howell. We were invited by Bella and Jackson to play a round of fetch, then said our goodbyes and made our way toward the dog park entrance.

Lots of people were arriving and the dogs were all animated and excited. Owners knew the drill and patiently waited their turn to enter the park, releasing gleeful dogs to their freedom, or to exit the park with dogs safely on leashes. By the end of our tour of the dog park, it was clear that the Warner dog park is well used and well loved by dogs and owners alike. 

The dogs left me with some
good life lessons:

• Enter situations with glee,
• Make your presence known but being friendly is best,
• Take time to play.