Woodland Bark, the dog park at Portage’s Woodland Park, unveiled what participants in last year’s Brewfest might have thought of when saying, “I’ll drink to that.”
The annual festival for the Portage Parks Foundation supported new DogiPot receptacles for waste at the large dog park. Indiana American Water donated two fire hydrants for the dogs to christen, too.
“This is such a great upgrade to our dog park,” Mayor Austin Bonta said at Saturday’s ribbon-cutting.
During his campaign, he said, he knocked on about 7,000 doors. Portage residents have a lot of dogs. “I think there’s more dogs than people,” he quipped.
Acting Park Superintendent Barb Lusco said the dog park totals about 5 acres, split into two sides so small dogs don’t get run over by large dogs playing with fellow canines. There are various toys, like hoops to jump through for the dogs’ enjoyment.
Randy Pena, of Diamond Pet Services, lives in Hammond but travels across Northwest Indiana. “This one is a breath of fresh air,” he said of Woodland Bark. “For being a non-membership park, this is definitely the spot to come out to.”
In Hammond and some other places, he said, dog parks aren’t maintained as well, including ensuring dog waste is picked up.
Pena and his daughter, Falynn, brought their dogs Diamond, a Siberian husky, and Hallow, a Doberman pinscher, to the ribbon-cutting. Both are emotional therapy dogs.
“It’s the best park,” Falynn said. “He’s a big dog, so he needs a lot of space to roam.”
“Diamond essentially saved my life,” Randy said. Randy was going through a dark time in his life when he realized if he weren’t there for Diamond, there might not be someone to care for the dog. That realization turned his life around.
Portage Parks Foundation President Brian Gulley had a busy Saturday. Not only was it the ribbon-cutting at Woodland Bark, but there was a parkwide cleanup the rest of the day and Brewfest in the evening, raising money for durable picnic tables made of synthetic wood. At $1,000 each, the fest would raise money for a few tables.
“I feel like people are more interested in helping us out if they know what it’s going for,” Gulley said.
The park cleanup was supported by Portage Music Boosters and others.
“We wanted to give back to the community,” parent Melissa Hedger, of Portage, said. About 40 young musicians and adults showed up to pick up trash.
Michelle Shultz, of Portage, knows how hard it is for kids to clean up their room. “They can pick up the eggs in 10 seconds,” at Easter, she said, but picking up dirty laundry takes longer.
Nevertheless, the students were glad to help with the cleanup, part of the daylong Earth Day events at Portage’s parks.
Rose Lemke, who plays violin, was picking up trash with her father, Robert Lemke. “Be mindful, this park isn’t yours,” she said, and pick up after yourself.
“We’ve noticed there’s plenty of trash around here,” Robert said.
They came prepared with grabbers to help them pick up trash without bending over as much.
Lucius Hogue and Jacob Magnant were picking up bits of confetti. They’re not big fans of using it. Being metal or plastic, confetti doesn’t biodegrade easily.
“There’s so much all over,” Hogue said. “It hurts my legs” to pick up so much.
Magnt is concerned about pollution and the effects on the environment. “Clean up once you’re done using it,” he said.
Lusco was proud of the large number of people who turned out to help with the cleanup. “It shows people care about the parks.”
Doug Ross is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
