Jonesboro opens first dog park

The city of Jonesboro has its first dog park.

The Earl Bell Dog Park, located behind the Earl Bell Center and across from International Studies Elementary School, will soon be open for dogs, Jonesboro Mayor Harold Perrin said. The area where a swimming pool was once inlayed behind the recreation center has been re-sodded and fenced, and a dilapidated pavilion has been restored for guests to bring their dogs for some off-leash fun.

The park cost $37,000 and was paid for through private donations and bricks were sold. The memorial bricks were sold for $100 a piece and have been used to create sidewalks. Some of the donations were in the form of in-kind labor and materials, such as the fencing, Jonesboro Communications Director Bill Campbell told Talk Business & Politics. There was no cost to the city, he added.

“I’m proud to open our first public dog park,” Perrin said. “I am especially proud of the donors and dog lovers who contributed to the project that allowed us to get it done without taxpayer funding.”

Guests can sit in the pavilion area and use its picnic tables and water fountain, which includes a doggie pedestal. The fenced areas are divided into sections for large (30 pounds or more) and small dogs.

Dog park rules will be posted on the city website, and a sign at the park. Dogs must be on-leash until they are inside the gates, and owners must remove their pets upon sign of aggression. Dog feces must also be removed.

The park was built with donations from dog lovers around Jonesboro, as well as in-kind donations from Nabholz Construction, ACME Brick and EAST labs at Nettleton and Valley View high schools. Contributions are still welcome and needed for additional features in the park.

Perrin said the city’s first dog park will not be its last. The city will devise plans to build a bigger dog park.

“We still intend to have a much larger park at Craighead Forest, and we will definitely want to add more around the city as the need and opportunities arise,” he said. “Dog parks are just a piece of the quality of life initiative we are undertaking, and continuing to make Jonesboro a great place to live is the priority of this administration.”