Newest Hillsborough County park goes to the dogs
By YVETTE C. HAMMETT
The heart of Brandon suburbia is getting a new playground — for the dogs.
Hillsborough County cut the ribbon Tuesday on the new dog park at the Bertha and Tony Saladino Park at 1705 Bryan Road.
The four-legged family members are getting just under three acres on which to run, fetch, jump around the fountain and otherwise socialize. Their human companions will get a shaded area in which to sit and a place to hang the leashes while the canines play.
This will be the seventh dog park in unincorporated Hillsborough County. The closest park besides this one is one at the Mango Recreation Center on Clay Pit Road. There is another at the Apollo Beach Recreation Center.
There will be one area for small dogs and a larger area for the big dogs, both fenced, with seating and fountains and canine agility and play equipment.
There is also a walking trail and a paved parking area with space for 47 vehicles.
Before this, the area was just a large stretch of open space, said Dana McDonald, special projects coordinator for Hillsborough County Parks and Recreation.
Residents in the Brandon area have been asking for a long time if they could get a dog park in the heavily populated area, McDonald said.
“It’s definitely something the community has been asking for, and we’ve gotten a lot of questions from community officials about when it would happen. When we heard how much they wanted it in the Saladino Park, just a big grassy area, we decided to put it to good use. We were really excited to be able to do this.”
There is a link on the county web site at www.hillsboroughcounty.org for information on all the county dog parks.
“They are all pretty well used,” McDonald said. “We really find, especially in Hillsborough County, people love going to the parks and getting outside with their pets. It’s a social thing not only for the dogs but for the residents. You go to a dog park and your economic and social status doesn’t matter. You are there to play with your dog, have a good time, meet new people. I go and I always meet new people. I find it is about getting to know your neighbors.
“Everyone has something in common,” she said. “You brag on your babies. Having that space, the dogs can go and not be on a leash and just run and play and be dogs, so it is great for everyone. That is a really great thing as an owner, especially if you have a small yard or you don’t have a fenced yard.”
Many homes in suburbia have small yards that are not conducive to serious physical exercise for animals, so this gives their humans an option.
“It is a really nice-size park,” McDonald said. “And we know it is important to have a big dog and a small dog area, because there are different levels of play. And we want everyone to feel comfortable bringing their dogs to the park.”
The benches and other equipment at the park are decorated with paws and bones, McDonald said. “We wanted that to be the theme — fun for the pups.”