By Tim Arnett
WABASH,Indiana – On Thursday, Gary Henderson — who’s known as the Dog Man of Wabash County — announced via social media that Wabash will finally have a dog park. The location of the park is south of Eco Water, just north of Pettit Printing on Carroll Street. Henderson told MiBash News that the one acre plot of grass next to Pettit will be fenced off as early as this fall. The large gravel driveway on site will be used for parking and users will have to pay a yearly fee for access during daytime hours only. That fee is estimated at around $20 to $25.
Henderson’s announcement on Thursday came on the heels of a meeting at Servisoft on Wednesday night where Stan and Patsy Myers agreed to the dog park. The Myers were already familiar with what Henderson can do after he trained their dog. When Henderson mentioned that his long-term goal is a dog park in Wabash, the Myers eventually decided to lease or sell the land to Henderson for the use of canines all over the county. And he says it’s the perfection location for a dog park.
The park will have things for dogs to climb and run through, in addition to a distance throwing area. Even better, there will be a separation area just for puppies. One plan is to pave a portion of the park to the puppy area so that disabled kids and adults can enter the fenced off section to play with puppies. 4-H’ers will also play a major role, having access to the park to practice during the year. And Henderson will also train dogs on site. Additionally, there will also be area for individuals to memorialize the dogs they’ve lost.
Henderson said that the largest cost will be the 6-foot tall fence that will enclose the area. Once the fence goes up, the park can open and the other fixtures can be installed one by one.