Wildwood Dog Park

of San Bernardino

The Wildwood Dog Park Story

In August 2000, Gus Prestridge contacted Annie Ramos, the Parks Director to ask if the City of San Bernardino had considered building a dog park in the city. Annie Ramos replied no, but she asked if I could meet with the Parks & Recreation committee on August 17th and present a proposal. This gave us a week to prepare but we were up to the challenge. The Parks & Recreation Committee approved the proposal and proceeded with a study and formal recommendation to the City Council to build a dog park in San Bernardino. To prepare our proposal to the City Council we jointly worked with the City Parks & Recreation department, Humane Society, Claremont Dog Park and Upland Dog Park associations to provide information to the City Council. On April 16, 2001, the City Council approved the proposal for a dog park and the funding for this project.

Today on March 16th just a short nineteen months from initial proposal to completed construction we are opening the Wildwood Dog Park. Wildwood Dog Park joins the list of over 600 dog parks in the United States and 169 dog parks in California. Our dog park is 1 of the 9 dog parks in the local Inland Empire Area (1).

The Wildwood Dog Park is unique in its design and organizational structure. The dog park is using a design concept proposed by the Wildwood Dog Park Association patterned after the Poway Dog Park by providing three separate fenced dog area's, one for the small & timid dogs and two large area's for large dogs. Dog owners will have access to one of the two large areas on alternating periods to allow for turf management so that the grass can recover from the heavy utilization by dogs and their owners. This concept allows for reduced operating costs for the Park Department and provides a system to monitor the utilization of the dog park common areas. The organization structure of Wildwood Dog Park Association is a five-way partnership with the Wildwood Dog Park Association, City of San Bernardino, City & County Animal Control, Humane Society of San Bernardino and the Friends of San Bernardino Parks. Representatives from the City of San Bernardino Animal Control Commission and the Humane Society are appointed to our Board of Directors to provide a liaison with agencies developing policy for animal control. The goal of the Wildwood Dog Park Association is to promote responsible dog ownership by providing the educational resources through Animal Control, the Humane Society, and dog obedience classes. Wildwood Dog Park will provide a location for dog owners and their dogs to exercise and play off leash in a safe controlled environment.

The dog park at Wildwood Park provides 3.5 acres which consists of three fenced areas, restrooms, benches, handicap access, dog liter disposal stations, ample parking, lighted dog park area, drinking fountains and a building that will be used for dog vaccination clinics & insertion of dog ID chips.

(1) Dog Parks in the Inland Empire Area: Chino, Prado Recreation Area, Riverside, Claremont, Upland, Palm Desert (2), San Bernardino, Palm Springs, Rancho Cucamonga

Wildwood Dog Park Association
wildwooddogpark@yahoo.com

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