2011 News Archive
Johns Creek's Newtown Dream Dog Park opens to smiles, wags
6/16/2011
There were beaming faces and wagging tails aplenty on June 15 as the City of Johns Creek and Beneful® brand dog food officially opened the renovated Newtown Dream Dog Park, located at Newtown Park.
An estimated 400 people and more than 150 dogs came to the opening of the park, which underwent a $500,000 facelift, courtesy of Beneful®.
The park features sprinklers for dogs to play in, obstacles for them to run through, over and around, plus water fountains for people and pets, shelters, benches, shade trees, and a walking trail around the perimeter. The renovated area is covered in porous artificial turf and the sprinkler water is recycled and cleaned through multiple filters.
Johns Creek landed the dog park when resident Pat McNeely and his dog, Koda, won the first national Beneful® WagWorld Dream Dog Park competition with a 250-word essay followed by a short video. The competition asked, "What would you do if you had $500,000 for a dog park?" McNeely's dream features helped inspire much of the new design, which renovated the old 1-acre Newtown Dog Park.
"This is truly an amazing dog park," said Mayor Mike Bodker. "When I talk to other mayors, they tell me, 'I want one for my city.' I anticipate it will be one of the jewels of the City's park system."
The park was opened with a brief ceremony featuring comments from Mayor Bodker, Beneful® Assistant Brand Manager Allison Jones, design expert and television personality Jason Cameron who oversaw the park's renovation, and pet expert and author Arden Moore.
"At Beneful, we truly believe that life is better together with our four-legged friends and that is why we launched the Beneful WagWorld Dream Dog Park Contest, which culminated at today's unveil event," Jones said.
The project was announced in September, and after extensive planning and design, construction started in March. City crews soon will dismantle the fence at a second dog park near the Community Garden.