Dog Park open again

BELLA VISTA — On May 29, one amenity closed by covid-19 quietly opened to a chorus of happy barking.

The dog park at Loch Lomond reopened with a rotating schedule for large and small dogs.

The K-9 Korral was heavily damaged by flooding in September, along with the nearby softball field. One side of the dog park, the side reserved for small dogs, was obliterated and didn’t open. Instead, the Property Owners Association devised a schedule for big dogs and small dogs to use the park on alternating days.

It was flooded again in November and, in April, it was closed to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

At the time, Rick Echols, Lakes and Fisheries superintendent remembered, the CDC recommended closing dog parks because it seemed possible dogs could spread the virus.

Echols said most people understood the closing but they were happy when it opened and the rotating schedule was resumed.

When people bring their small dogs in on a day reserved for big dogs, they’re taking the risk themselves and he doesn’t intervene. But if a big dog is in the park on small dog day, he said, they may be asked to leave to ensure the small dogs’ safety.

Echols hopes to begin work on a new area for small dogs in the fall, but he doesn’t have a definite schedule yet. In the past, association officials said when they started on the project, they might move the remaining large dog park to a different section of Loch Lomond Park to avoid flooding issues.

(NWA Democrat-Gazette/Lynn Atkins) Scalp, a 1-year-old golden retriever, had the dog park at Loch Lomond to himself on a hot Friday afternoon. He was there with his owner, Mike Hundley.