Lawton dog owners love plan for park improvements

If you want to know where the action is, visit the Vito Baxter Puppy Promenade between 4-6 p.m.

While the play area has visitors throughout the day, those in the know say peak time is late afternoon, when temperatures start to cool, shade is forming and humans can sit comfortably and chat while their canine companions romp and chase in a fenced-in area specifically designed for dogs.

Dan Bennett, a traveling nurse who works in Lawton and other communities, comes to the park daily with his dog Duke when the two are in town. Because they are frequent visitors, Duke has his own posse, evident Thursday as Duke divided his time between playing ball with his dad and running with his friends, interspersed with frequent pit stops to plunge his face into a large bucket filled with water. Apparently other dogs know about Bennett’s ball-throwing habit, as they circled around asking for a ball chase or ran with Duke after a ball Bennett threw deep into the park.

“It’s important for his exercise,” Bennett said, explaining he and Duke are at the park every day for exercise, sunshine and fresh air, because they live in an apartment where Duke’s exercise options are limited.

Bennett knows for a fact Duke loves to visit.

“He cries all the way here,” he said, explaining that as soon as Duke realizes where the car is heading, he cries until he arrives.

Bennett said the park gives Duke a chance to run off his energy and play with the friends he has made. While the 1.5-acre tract provides some good opportunities, Bennett said he wouldn’t mind seeing some improvements.

“Bigger,” he said, explaining his travels have exposed him to much larger dog parks that Duke really enjoys. “The size, and shade are the biggest things. And, water faucets.”

Faucets were a common theme among the humans. While buckets filled with water were stationed all over the park, the few water faucets haven’t been turned on yet. At least one doesn’t work and even if it did, owners say the park needs more to serve the variety of dogs that sometimes collect at the same time.

Barry Sleight was delighted by the news that Bryce Mosley is planning upgrades to the park that is a favorite destination for his dog Dudley. Like Bennett and Duke, Sleight and Dudley enjoy their daily visits to the park, Sleight to socialize and catch up on reading; Dudley to run off energy and play with his friends.

Sleight has talked to other owners who agree with him about what he’d like to see, to include a larger play area in general and a separate, direct entrance for smaller dogs to their play area. He was pleased when he learned that Mosley already has made that plan, saying while most dogs are comfortable with each other, smaller dogs sometimes need their own area and don’t always like passing among larger dogs to get there.

He’s also delighted by the plan to lessen flood-prone areas.

“Lake Dog Park,” Sleight said of a large pond area formed by flood waters, an area that amuses the dogs who want to play in the water and mud.

Sleight said the dog park is as important for humans as it is for dogs.

“It’s a local group,” he said, of friendships made among the owners who visit while their dogs play.

Scottie Rushing agrees the park benefits both dogs and humans.

“Every day,” he said of the visiting schedule he keeps for his dogs, Patches and Blue. “They look forward to it.”

Rushing said the most popular time is about 4 p.m., when many of the long-time park visitors gather to socialize and watch their dogs play. While the visit is important exercise for Patches and Blue, Rushing said the 2-plus hours he spends there is equally important for him.

“It’s a good, social place,” he said. “It gets you out.”