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The Victoria GAZETTE |
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by Sue Orsen Temperatures on Saturday, January 22nd, 2011, were below zero degrees all morning -- all day, for that matter -- so it was perfect for making a pot of chili, doing the laundry, getting under a quilt in front of old movies, reading by the fire, enjoying indoor comforts. Instead, I packed a picnic lunch and drove with Allan in his warm vehicle with heated seats to the dog park here in Victoria. I was looking to find a little love in a dog’s world for this Valentine issue of the Gazette, but there was no reason for me to suffer in the search -- thus, the food, the companion, and the enclosed vehicle. To our amazement, there was so much love in the dog park that I didn’t have time to eat my sandwich. Why weren’t these dog owners at home making chili? Why weren’t they hibernating? Every time another vehicle pulled in or out of the parking lot at the park, I pulled out my camera and ran to greet the people and their pets. Although the temperatures were terrible, even dangerous (they don’t talk about frostbite and hypothermia for nothing in Minnesota), nobody seemed affected except me. Allan kept reading his newspaper while I fumbled with untied scarf and unzippered coat, in and out of a high-step SUV, at various times dropping my pen, my gloves, my camera. I came to learn that the layered look is the smartest style at the Carver Park Reserve Off-Leash Dog Area, which I will simply call the Victoria Dog Park in this story. Some of the dog owners were wearing five layers! All of the dogs sported their own fur coats and went wild crazy when they neared the gated entrance to the fenced-in off-leash territory, like little kids spying a swing set across the road. They know from previous experience that freedom and fun waits for them on the other side. Despite this yearning, however, most of them -- dogs and owners -- obliged this editor with a momentary pose for my camera. And despite my heartiest endeavor, I couldn’t catch everybody that showed up at the dog park in the brief hour we were there. The weather hardly seemed a factor in the park’s popularity. Amazing! I later asked Allison Neaton, the Outdoor Education Supervisor with the Three Rivers Park District at the Lowry Nature Center and Carver Park Reserve in Victoria, about the two fenced-in areas that we saw at the dog park. I should probably have guessed that the smaller area is designated for smaller dogs, or frail and sick dogs, to exercise apart from the larger healthy dogs if an owner prefers. Total size of the off-leash area is 27 acres. The smaller section is just over four acres in size. The park opened in the fall of 2006. Who maintains the dog park? “The area is maintained by the maintenance staff of the Three Rivers Park District, the same staff that maintains the whole of Carver Park’s trails and amenities,” said Allison. The parking lot, which has space for 24 vehicles, is plowed in the winter and graded in the summer. There are interior trails that are mowed in the summer and packed in the winter. In the summer there is a larger area in the interior that is mowed for handlers to use for playing fetch and practicing retrieving. Annual passes can be purchased for $35 at the Lowry Nature Center and used at any of the seven off-leash areas in the park system. Three Rivers Park staff regularly visit the dog park to ensure everyone is using the area safely, following the rules, and has the appropriate pass. The off-leash area, located on Park Drive just east of downtown Victoria, is open from 5 am. until 10 p.m. “We see a lot of Victoria addresses from people purchasing passes at Lowry Nature Center,” said Allison, “so we know there are a lot of Victoria residents who visit the area.” It was fun to meet and greet residents of Victoria as well as residents of neighboring communities as I looked for and found lots of love in a dog’s world.
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February 2011 |
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Love in a Dog’s World |
