Photo: Oakland County Parks and Recreation
Looking back at the creation of Oakland County (Mich.) Parks and Recreation’s first dog park, Operations Manager Sue Wells, a lifelong dog owner herself, laughs and says, “I never thought they would be this popular!”
The dog parks are so popular that the county is now looking at developing a master plan for their growth.
In 2000, the county parks opened the first dog park; the number has since grown to three, and the original park has grown in size. The Orion Dog Park at the northern end of the 910-square-mile county was the first, the Lyon Oaks Dog Park followed in 2007 at the western end, and the Red Oaks Dog Park in the southern portion was introduced 3 years later.