Bayfront Park's dog park is a popular place

On a sunny January afternoon, Bayfront Park’s large-dog park was a popular place.

Sue Lupo’s 6-year-old Vizsla, Derby, was visiting with Max, Buzz Schaberg’s 9-year-old goldendoodle, who was in the process of getting muddy. That was OK with Schaberg.

“He gets excited when he knows I am taking him to the park,” Schaberg said. “If I don’t take him, I get a stare down.”

Elizabeth McDonnell, who splits her time between Longboat and Wilmington, Del., was a first-time visitor to the no-leash park with her dog, Nick, a 10-month-old spotted Catahoula.

“The people are friendly here,” she said as she watched her dog run around the park.

Rudy, a yellow Labrador, comes twice a day to play, said Kathy Humphrey, his owner. “It’s a five-minute walk for us,” said Humphrey as she attempted to corral Rudy. “He’s made a lot of friends here.”

The dog park, which is divided for large and small dogs with white signs with blue lettering marking the separate parks, has been a popular addition to Bayfront Park since it opened in June 2017. People love it, said Mark Richardson, Longboat’s Streets, Facilities, Parks and Recreation Manager.

“The word is out,” he said.

And there have been no repeats of a dog escaping from the park's fenced enclosure and running into Gulf of Mexico Drive.

A week before Thanksgiving in 2017, a husband and wife brought their two dogs to the large-dog park, where spaces between the bars are wider than those on the small-dog side. Their 20-pound Parsons Jack Russell Terrier wiggled through the space between the bars and ran out into GMD and was hit by a passing vehicle.The animal sustained serious injuries.

Richardson said the town has not done any work on the park’s fencing since the November 2017 incident except to post permanent signs making it clear to dog owners that one side is for small dogs and the other is for large dogs. The town also posted signs that read, “Canine and human visitors enter at their own risk, the Town of Longboat Key cannot be responsible for injuries to visiting dogs, their owners, or others using the park.”

Sarasota resident Pat Ensley, who calls herself a pet nanny, comes to the park several times a week with her client’s dog, Gracie, a beagle mix.

“It’s great,” she said. “The dogs run and play with each other and have a good time.”

The Bayfront Dog Park is open seven days a week, with the exception of 1-4 p.m. Mondays so the town can do maintenance work.

“Since we don’t have to get the grass as often these days, we’re sometimes open Monday afternoon too,” Richardson said.

The renovated Bayfront Park re-opened in June 2017. The town paid $1.02 million, for the renovations while Sarasota County chipped in $2 million. Besides the dog park, Bayfront amenities now include pickleball, basketball, tennis and shuffleboard courts, a kayak launch, a fishing pier, a covered pavilion, a picnic area and a charging station for people who drive electric cars.