dog parks – Memphis Flyer

Justin Fox Burks

Memphis lands on a lot of rando lists.

Best bluff cities. Best ursine sports mascots. Most-affordable alternative weekly newspapers. (These are fake, people.)

And lots of those lists come from really rando sources. UrbanYurt.com. LendingClownPenguin.org. The Hotdog-Is-Not-A-Sandwich Foundation. (These are also fake, people.)

But when the Trust for Public Land (TPL) talks dog parks? Sounds legit.

That San Francisco-based group is filled with experts on city parks. It issues a report each year that ranks the largest cities, “centered around our vision that everyone deserves to live within a 10-minute walk of a quality park.”

TPL said Thursday that Memphis ranks 72nd out of the nation’s biggest 100 cities for dog parks. The group divided the city’s population of 662,038 among its four dog parks and found there were .6 dog parks for every 100,000 people. Corpus Christi, Anaheim, and Jacksonville had the same number per capita but were ranked lower then Memphis.

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“Dog parks are built for dogs, but are fantastic resources for people,” said Diane Regas, president and CEO of the TPL. “As anyone who has chatted with a neighbor while taking their four-legged friend to the dog park knows, community is created there. Having places to meet our neighbors can help us find common ground and encourages everyone to get outside.”

America’s 100 largest cities have 810 off-leash dog parks, according to TPL New York has the most dog parks (145).

But here are TPL’s top cities for dog parks:

1. Boise, Idaho, with 13 total dog parks, or 5.7 per 100,000 residents.
2. Portland, Oregon, with 35 total dog parks, or 5.4 per 100,000 residents.
3. Henderson, Nevada, with 15 total dog parks, or 5.0 per 100,000 residents.

Other cities in the top 10 include Norfolk, Virginia (4th place); San Francisco, California, and Tampa, Florida (tied for 5th place); Las Vegas; Nevada, and Madison, Wisconsin (tied for 7th place); Oakland, California (9th place); and Arlington, Virginia (10th place).

See the full list for yourself here:

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My view is evolving. My view of dog parks, that is. I’ve been watching as the “Dog Bark” — that is not a typo — takes shape at Overton Park.

On the one hand, I think it’s a great idea and overdue in my book, having been spooked by big dogs while walking a small dog and having stepped in dog poop in the Overton Park playing field and greensward more than a time or two. The Dog Bark will have separate fenced areas for large and small dogs. Workmen were out Thursday morning laying down the surface, and this looks like the Hyatt Regency of dog parks. The grand opening is set for June 2nd.

On the other hand, I wonder if dogs and their owners are like motorcycle riders who don’t wear helmets and beach lovers who don’t wear sunscreen. They want to ride or run free and let their inner rebel out. The dog owners in my neighborhood have a little community that meets at an unfenced park in Midtown. The dogs — mostly big ones — seem to like it that way. The dog park behind the Board of Education on Avery looks kind of stark, and most people have to drive to get there. Shelby Farms, of course, is the field of canine dreams because of its size.

The dog owners I see in Overton Park like letting them off leash in the Old Forest and on the playing field next to Rainbow Lake, which is an irresistible attraction to some mutts. But if the owners don’t scoop, they’re tempting a war with those who want to use the playing field for Ultimate or playing catch or simply walking from the Memphis College of Art to Rainbow Lake.

A leash ordinance and strict enforcement would not be in the spirit of Overton Park. This is the park whose friends successfully defied an interstate highway. Polite encouragement might work, but I predict there will be some dogs that will continue to run free outside the confines of the Dog Bark. Maybe they can evolve.