Fun for dogs and their humans

Jul. 21—Canines soon will have a new spot to strut their stuff in Medford.

More than a dozen U.S. Bank employees braved the heat Thursday to help install a much-anticipated agility course for the dog park at the corner of Barnett Road and Highland Drive in east Medford.

The facility has two courses — one for big dogs and one for little dogs. It is located on the eastern end of the park, in an area that has long been little more than a large, fenced-in chunk of land.

The course features an instant pop of color and offers dog owners the chance to have some fun with their pooches this summer.

Brian Young, U.S. Bank district manager, said he approached city parks officials earlier this year with the idea to spruce up the dog park and add some fun features. U.S. Bank employees from around the region agreed to provide volunteer labor, and U.S. Bank purchased $20,000 worth of agility equipment.

Last Thursday, the volunteers helped city parks staff pour concrete, set poles for additional course features, and helped remove trash and graffiti from nearby walls and the pedestrian bridge over Barnett Road.

Young visited the park Friday afternoon to check on the fresh concrete and survey the space. His dog Grisham, a large black and white St. Bernadoodle, tagged along to do his own inspection.

A frequent visitor to the dog park, Young said he was excited for bank employees to partner with the city to improve the dog park. Volunteers will return Aug. 6 to put the finishing touches on the course, hang informational signs and help shovel bark around the base of the equipment to keep dogs and their owners safe from exposed concrete and metal.

Once complete, the site will boast a series of ramps, tunnels, poles, a seesaw and a slew of other things for dogs to jump in, on and around.

"This was a lot of fun to help put together. I first approached Rich (Rosenthal) with parks and recreation last year. I said, 'We've all been locked up in COVID, and we have volunteers who work for U.S. Bank who love to support our community however they can,'" Young said.

"We've been without an outlet since the pandemic. All the things we were volunteering for indoors were all canceled, so we haven't had a lot of ways to get our people involved."

Young said the Medford dog park was fairly nondescript and could use some spiffing up. He's hoping additional trees and better parking eventually could become reality. The agility course, he said, was a good start.

"I bring this guy (Grisham) and his older brother to this park, and I hear people say that they constantly go to the Ashland dog park because they have a nice agility park and it gives them something to do," Young said.

"Even if your dog isn't going to use the equipment, it's fun to come here with your dog and see the ones that are playing on it. It really adds to the space."

Tim Stevens, assistant parks and recreation director for the city, said the agility course installation — and bank volunteers — were appreciated by the city and its small parks crew, who are often stretched thin with day-to-day demands.

"It's definitely a cool amenity," Stevens said. "Dog owners, in general, are very passionate about their pets, so it's fun to give them lots of options, and I'm sure this will be getting a lot of use."

Stevens said the dog park, nearing two decades old, began as a temporary amenity, but it sees a significant amount of use as one of a handful of off-leash spaces in the city parks system. Other off-leash areas are available at Hawthorne Park and a newly added area at Cedar Links Park.

"You can drive past any one of those areas, almost any time of day, and there's always somebody using them," Stevens noted.

If the agility course is heavily used, Stevens said, parks officials likely would incorporate another into future parks planning.

Katie Nelson, an Ashland branch manager for U.S. Bank, said she looked forward to taking her goldendoodle to the park when the course is finished.

Nelson marveled at the amount of trash and needles involved in Thursday's cleanup effort.

"It was ... something. It was really disturbing to see all the trash and needles. Luckily most of the needles were capped. Just so much trash," she said.

"But it was really awesome to see how good this looked when we were done yesterday. I was pretty excited to be a part of making it better."

Young said he planned to help host an event in September, an "official reopening," of sorts.

"Our plan is to have vendors, dog trainers, veterinarians — just all kinds of people who serve the community — and dog owners. We want to introduce concepts and encourage things like safe park use and responsible ownership of pets," he said.

"Our goal is to make this park not just a fun place for dogs but a fun place for people who love dogs — and something fun to do instead of walking in circles in a big, empty field."

Stevens said community involvement was crucial in improving local parks.

"We do have a very small crew that maintains lots and lots of parkland, so having volunteers who are willing to do projects like this is awesome for our community," he said.

"Our resources, oftentimes, are funneled to the emergency of the moment. It's sometimes hard for us to find time to add amenities that will make a fun difference. This was really ... a win for the community and a win for U.S. Bank, because they get to give back."

Reach reporter Buffy Pollock at 541-776-8784 or bpollock@rosebudmedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @orwritergal