Oak Forest Residents OK Dog Park as New 'Pet' Project

Oak Forest may have a new place for its canines to cavort, dig and do their duty as early as Spring 2012, now that a dedicated group of residents is organizing to open a dog park in one of two locations.

Late last month Ald. Laura Clemons (1st Ward), an owner of three dogs who's spearheading the project, proposed that the dog park be established on the corner of 165th Street and Knottingwood Avenue, near the Oak Forest Hospital.

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“It's my feeling ... that in this kind of economy,” Clemons reiterated from the last meeting, “that it's very important to make a community not only liveable, but enjoyable.”

After several residents living near the first proposed location cited concerns—from noise, to odor, to dog attacks and vehicle traffic—Rover was soon asked to move over until a more suitable location for the dog park was found.

The second proposed location, though narrower, would encompass a roughly 2-acre field on 158th Street just east of Central Avenue, behind Food 4 Less grocery, much of which descends into a flood reservoir.

“People changed their minds when they [suggested the new location],” said Jill Hendricks, an Oak Forest resident of 25 years, who's a supporter of the dog park. “I have a large backyard, but this gives my dog more space and socialization.”

Unlike June's meeting, last night's meeting heard little to no backlash from residents. Many even offered fundraising suggestions, design ideas and sales pitches for the new dog park, which Clemons said will cost a roughly $10,000 in seed money to start up; and that's if it's to become a premium dog park that provides residents with a little “peace and harmony in the world.”

At base the park will include fencing that locks, keys for each owner, benches and water bowls. As time goes on, it may include a double entry gate with a pass key or code pad; pool or pond with a separate play area for small dogs; and separate areas for digging or washing your dog.

“It's taken a lot of work to get this far,” Clemons stressed, after pointing to various dog parks she visited recently, including the basic kind in Blue Island, which totaled $3,000 and has a field with picnic tables, and the elaborate kind in Oak Lawn, which totaled over $15,000 and has a walking path, water fountains for people and their dogs, and a statue of a dog at the front gate.

Clemons said she'd like the park to be modest and affordable, not as “gaudy” as Oak Lawn's, and that it's up to the group to lay its foundations.

“That's the beauty of this,” she said, wide-eyed, to those attending. "You get to make the rules.”

The next step in the process is to form a committee, who'll then kick off fundraising and solicit sponsors. Clemons also plans on creating a dog-centric promotional video based loosely on The Bachelor, a reality TV show where several women compete to marry one man. The idea is to cast several female dogs who'll pursue a lone male dog. Without a dog park, though, the remaining dog couple will have no place for their romantic rendezvous, doggone it!

The next meeting is scheduled for Saturday, August 13, and it will include a field trip to both proposed areas for the dog park.