2011 News Archive
Johns Creek's dog park rivals the best in the country
Park offers amenities for pets and owners
8/22/2011
Johns Creek offers a dog park that other cities envy. After a Johns Creek resident won a national contest, Beneful™ brand dog food built a $500,000 play area at Newtown Park for pups and their people.
The dog 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 in 2010 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.'"
The park opening in June 2011 was attended by 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...," Jones said.
The project was announced in September 2010, and after extensive planning and design, construction started in March, 2011.