Room to roam
A “No Leash Area” sign points the way from the main road at a Mingo Creek County Park parking lot.
Mingo Creek County Park may boast Washington County’s first and only off-leash dog park, but a newer one at South Park, Allegheny County, features a more reliable gate system to keep Fido from staging a not-so-great escape.
Perhaps when the idea for Mingo’s off-leash meadow was conceived more than a decade ago as a place for dogs to frolic and cavort, no one envisioned the need for more than a typical gate.
It’s a dog park, for Pete’s sake, not a maximum-security prison, so I’m not barking mad. But hear me out.
Much of Mingo park consists of hillsides, and the dog park is no exception.
Unless a gate is constructed specifically for the terrain, fence and gate on a steep slope may not be a snug fit at ground level, and sure enough, our 20-pound dog, off-leash, easily skedaddled through an opening between the main gate and ground to greet two dogs and their owners walking along the trail. I thought he was high-tailing it to Stoggletown.
Many thanks to the helpful human who collared him as he tangled with two canines more than twice his size. Otherwise, our black dog heeding the call of the wild would probably be sauntering down Black Dog Hollow Road by now.
At a dog park, a canine pack gravitates toward each new arrival, and it’s easy for a dog to slip through an open gate no matter how careful the humans are.
“Your dog has to be under your command. You just can’t turn it loose. It takes a lot of time to train a dog to behave properly,” said Jeff Donahue, Washington County superintendent of recreation.
Of course, he’s correct, but at Mingo, even a larger, off-leash dog could easily head for the hills when anyone enters or exits.
A dog off-leash in other parts of the park is in violation of the park ordinance, and their owners are subject to a talking-to by park employees or citations from sheriff’s deputies.
South Park, along Maple Springs Drive, in Allegheny County, has a better confinement system of two gates connected by a fenced chute that makes it tougher for Tiny or Towser to be an escape artist.
It’s the same type of system one sees in some zoo exhibits where security is of utmost importance, and it keeps dogs from bolting from park to parking lot or beyond.
South Park dog park is also a hillside, and it’s easy to tell that the place gets a lot of use, not just by sheer numbers of pets there on a warm evening, but because the grass is worn off in many places. Allegheny County park maintenance has spread the bare spots with wood chips.
Back at Mingo, our dog didn’t avail himself of the nearby forest, but would-be dog-park users should be aware that Mingo’s off-leash area is not totally fenced. A tree line and underbrush serve as a perimeter, but it’s not impenetrable.
“A lot of people (and dogs) use it, so it’s not likely that wildlife will venture into the area, but it’s always a possibility,” Donahue said. And dogs do chase squirrels, rabbits, deer and other animals.
He believes Mingo Creek County Park is the only park in Washington County with an off-leash dog park, and an Internet search didn’t turn up any others.
“I’m surprised there isn’t one in Peters,” Donahue said of the township that is home to Arrowhead, a rails-to-trails conversion of the former Montour Railroad.
“For those who want to catch Frisbee with their dogs, the trail doesn’t accommodate that need,” Donahue said.
Paul Lauer, Peters Township assistant manager, said a dog park is on the radar for Peters’ five-year plan.
Yet another dog park our pup has visited is in Violet Township, near Pickerington, Ohio. In addition to its two-gate fence system, this place has separate areas for big dogs – a baseball-field sized area – while small dogs have an area the size of a tennis court.
Like the canine training guides say, “A tired puppy is a good puppy.” Exercise and fresh air are good for both canine and human.