For Immediate Release:
July 21, 2009

Media Contact:
Edith Torres

305-755-7862



Miami-Dade Parks, Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Alvarez and Miami-Dade County Commissioner Javier Souto, District 10, Dedicate the New Dog Park at Tropical Park, Saturday, July 25, 11 A.M.

The Event will Feature a Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony, Pet Adoption from Animal Services, and the Opportunity to Immortalize your Dog’s Paw Prints in Cement


(Miami-Dade County, FL) -- 
Miami-Dade Park and Recreation Department, Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Alvarez and Miami-Dade County Commissioner Javier Souto, District 10, will dedicate a new dog park at Tropical Park, Saturday, July 25, at 11 a.m. 

The dedication ceremony will feature a ribbon-cutting ceremony with Mayor Alvarez, Commissioner Javier Souto and officials from Miami-Dade Parks.  Following the ribbon-cutting, Miami-Dade Parks will be hosting a fundraiser where dog owners can “Adopt a Dog Park” by purchasing an 18” x 18” cement tile and cast their dog’s paw prints in wet cement at a cost of $100.  The cement tile with the dog’s paw prints will then become a permanent fixture of the promenade inside Tropical Park’s Dog Park.   

Miami-Dade Animal Services will also participate by bringing dogs available for adoption, and by providing information about their services and promoting responsible pet ownership. 

The two-acre dog park is divided into two areas, one for larger dogs weighing over 35 pounds and one for smaller dogs weighing less than 35 pounds. Both areas feature play equipment, such as a tire jump, window jump, king-of-the-hill ramp, dog walk and others.  The dog park also features dog comfort stations with doggy drinking fountains and water sprays, pooper scoopers to keep the areas clean, and a shade structure that overlaps both sides. 

The project also included the construction of a new promenade overlooking the lake; the addition of park benches along the promenade; new shade and flowering trees were planted throughout the dog park; and a common area for dog owners with water fountains and an informational kiosk.   A walkway was also built connecting all areas of the dog park and making it ADA accessible.

Total project cost was $430,000 funded by the Building Better Communities Bond Program (GOB). 

The Dog Park at Tropical Park will be open seven days a week from 8 a.m. to sunset.  Tropical Park is located at 7900 SW 40 Street.  To access the dog park, patrons are encouraged to enter the park through the Miller Drive entrance near the hill on the north side of the lake.  

With the opening of the dog park at Tropical Park, Miami-Dade Parks now offers constituents three dog parks, one at Amelia Earhart Park, one at East Greynolds Park and the one at Tropical Park.  Miami-Dade Parks also offers one dog-run park at Lago Mar Park where dogs can run around unleashed but which doesn’t provide the amenities found in a dog park.  There are 13 dog-friendly parks within the County’s parks system that allow dog owners to visit the park with their dogs on a leash, and provide bag dispensers and waste baskets for owners to clean up after their dogs.  The 13 dog-friendly parks are Acadia Park, Biscayne Shores and Gardens Park, Deerwood Bonita Lakes Park, Kevin Broils Park, Kings Meadow Park, Military Trail Park, Olympic Park, Rockdale Park, San Jacinto Park, Snapper Creek Park, Spanish Lake Park, Tamiami Trail Park, and West Kendale Lakes Park.

Miami-Dade Parks creates outstanding recreational, natural and cultural experiences to enrich you and to enhance our community for this and future generations.


 

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