Tails are wagging. Long-wanted dog park on Lexington’s south side finally opens

For years, residents on Lexington’s south side have asked for a dog park.

On Wednesday, those residents and dog owners finally got their wish.

Thanks largely to a $125,000 donation from Phil and Mary Greer, an approximately 4-acre dog park in Veterans Park off of Tates Creek Road officially opened.

It’s the city’s seventh dog park or lot, and the first new space for dogs in Lexington since 2017.

The park has one paddock, water fountains for humans and dogs, and other features commonly found in the city’s other larger dog parks. It is also handicap accessible.

“The parks have been widely popular with people and dogs,” said Mayor Linda Gorton, one of the co-founders of the Friends of the Dog Park, which helped establish the dog parks in the late 1990s. Gorton served for 16 years on council prior to becoming mayor in 2019. “I want to thank the Greer family on behalf of the city.”

Announced in August 2020, the park was originally scheduled to open in the spring of 2021.

Phil Greer, a developer who has been behind many Lexington projects including City Center, said he promised his wife Mary that if she died and he outlived her, he would build a dog park in her honor.

“She’s still alive,” Phil Greer joked during Wednesday’s official ribbon-cutting of the long-awaited dog park. Greer said the city faced repeated obstacles over the past two years — ornery weather patterns, a global pandemic, material and equipment shortages —which delayed the opening of the park.

“It’s been a long struggle,” Greer said, whose speech was frequently interrupted or punctuated by barks from some four-legged attendees. Greer said he and wife have walked their dogs in the Veterans Park area for years.

“We are especially happy that it’s in Veterans Park,” Greer said. “Mary and I have lived on the south end of Lexington for over 50 years. We had dogs before we were married 52 years ago.”

Greer said he hopes that Lexington dog owners enjoy the park as much as he and Mary have loved their dogs.

“Our philosophy is all dogs should be loved and spoiled,” Greer said.

Lexington-Fayette Urban County Councilwoman Kathy Plomin, who represents many of the neighborhoods near Veterans Park, said the nine silhouettes of dogs on the fence of the park represent each of the Greers’ dogs. The Greers have owned dogs since the 1940s.

Ploming and Councilman Chuck Ellinger Jr. used some council-designated funds to chip in $19,000 to build parking spaces for the park.

Mike Sweeney and his dog Leo, 3, played in the new dog park prior to Wednesday’s ribbon-cutting, Sweeney, the president of the Cumberland Hill neighborhood, said he and Leo are typically there most mornings. Cumberland Hill is just behind Veterans Park and it’s an easy walk to the dog park.

“Every morning between 8 a.m. and 9 a.m. we’re here,” Sweeney said.

They aren’t alone.

Sweeney estimates between 10 and 20 dogs and their two-legged handlers are at the new park each morning.

“It’s been a huge benefit for our neighborhood,” Sweeney said.

The closest dog park for many in that area is in Wellington Park off of Reynolds Road.

Lexington Parks and Recreation Director Monica Conrad said the city started “Yappy Hours” around its popular dog parks this summer. The events includes food trucks, live music and other entertainment. Following Wednesday’s ribbon-cutting was the final Yappy Hour of the summer.

Conrad said there is more to be done at the dog park.

On Oct. 15, the parks office is partnering with Kentucky Utilities to plant trees in the new dog park and around it. Volunteers are needed. “We know dog and dog owners want trees and want shade,” Conrad said.

The city’s other dog parks or lots include: Masterson Station, Jacobson Park, Coldstream, Wellington, Pleasant Ridge and Phoenix Park.

Phoenix Park is the newest and opened in 2017.