NELSONVILLE, Ohio — After years of work by a volunteer board, the Nelsonville Dog Park opened last month with more improvements planned to enhance the experience for dogs and their human companions alike.
“It’s a very nice open area for dogs. This is a great location. We’re only hoping to make it even better,” Nelsonville Dog Park Board member Dan Pfeiffer told the Independent in an interview.
Located at 1157 Dog Park Lane off East Canal Street, the park is divided into three fenced sections, creating different areas for pets and people to play.
On their second trip to the park with dogs Stormy and Raven, pet owners Ariel and Leham told the Independent on June 23 that they appreciate the different sections, which include areas for large dogs, small dogs, and training.
The different sections of the park are open, grassy areas. A walking path and small shelter are located near the park, too. The city will soon add additional infrastructure to the park.
“Right now, it’s open areas, which the dogs love, too,” Pfeiffer said. He added that additions will include “tunnels that give them a place for shade or to hide, climb on. And then we’ve got some agility equipment, and depending on how the funds on the grant end up here, we may buy more equipment, even.”
The city already received “benches, charcoal grills, trash cans, security lights, and pet waste stations,” according to a Facebook post by the dog park’s page.
In addition to tunnels, the dog exercise equipment will include jump hurdles, a jump balance beam, and a culvert pipe. Additional improvements such as a shade shelter, trees, and porta potties will also come to the park in the near future, according to the Facebook post.
The improvements were funded by the Ohio One Time Strategic Community Investments Grant, according to the post.
Moving forward, Pfeiffer said the dog park board hopes to add additional areas for shade, additional trees, security cameras, and Wi-Fi.
“One of the long term plans is to renovate the old wastewater treatment plant office and turn that into storage and restrooms for people,” Pfeiffer said.
Pfeiffer said he and other members of the Nelsonville Dog Park Board spent six years planning for the park. He was initially inspired to work towards a dog park in the city because he has a dog of his own.
“I got a dog, and I thought a dog park would be a good idea here in Nelsonville, because there’s a lot of people in Nelsonville [with] dogs,” Pfeiffer said.
He added there had often been complaints around town concerning dog waste at parks and in public areas.
“So it’s like, let’s get a dog park, maybe be a little bit more organized, and have facilities to handle this,” Pfeiffer said.
The first hurdle was finding land. The city first identified the site of the old sewer plant as a possible location for the park in 2021, as this reporter covered for The Athens Messenger. Nelsonville City Council established the Nelsonville Dog Park board in 2022, formalizing the role of dog park advocates within the city government.
After the site was identified, the board still needed to pull together the funding to make the park a reality.
The Ohio Department of Development awarded $250,000 for construction of the park in 2024, while a previous 2023 grant from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources allowed for the construction of the shelter house. The dog park board also organized various dog swims at the Nelsonville pool as fundraisers to support the park, Pfeiffer said.
The community also engaged in the process through a survey on what they’d like to see in the park and by attending the Nelsonville Dog Park Board’s monthly meetings. Pfeiffer said that, especially through numerous transitions in Nelsonville city government, the process wasn’t easy, but “we just kept going no matter what.”
Now, the Nelsonville Dog Park Board will help maintain the park, plan for future improvements, and oversee operations.
The Nelsonville Dog Park is open daily dawn through dusk.
