Dear Otus,
What’s with the bulldozers next to the dog park in Murray Park?
- Tom Techichi Little Rock
Dear Tom,
It was wholly a pleasure to hear from you and a further pleasure to be able to discuss this exciting development for dog lovers.
What you see in Little Rock’s Murray Park is the early demolition with the goal of replacing the old, outmoded “barrier-free” children’s playground with a new, state-of the-art expansion of the existing 5.3-acre Paws Park.
The kiddie playground, which opened in 1983, was once considered a major asset for the then-young Murray Park. In Owner’s youth, the area along the river below the cliffs was a fetid and miasmic swamp with shifting sandbars and clandestine teenage keggers. That ended in 1964 when construction began on nearby Lock 7 on the river.
In 1980, the park and lock and dam were re-named for funnyman Bill Murray after he put on a Caddyshack tournament at Rebsamen Golf Course to benefit (then) Lock 7 Park (and publicize his new film). The Bill Murray Pro-Am (attended by Gov. Bill Clinton playing with pro golfers Ben Crenshaw and Fuzzy Zoeller) netted $1.2 million, with proceeds used to rid the park of coyotes and bobcats and to build the playground.
First Dog Zeke was honorary caddy and barked along to the film’s famous theme song “I’m Alright” by Kenny Loggins that started to play.
You can see a bronze plaque in Murray’s honor next to Pavilion No. 6.
Situated on a narrow mile long strip between Rebsamen Park Road and the Arkansas River, the park was the first home of Riverfest (then called the Summer Arts Festival) in 1976.
There were picnic pavilions at one end and boat ramps at the other. What it lacked was a playground. What was installed 30 years ago - asphalt walkways, raised sandboxes, tunnels, railroad ties and a swing set - cost $120,000 and was intended to be a place where disabled children could cavort without barriers.
The playground had fallen into disrepair in recent years, and more modern playgrounds, such as in Little Rock’s Riverfront Park and at Pinnacle Mountain State Park, had made it obsolete.
Meanwhile, the dog park boom was on.
Puppy Park in North Little Rock Burns Park opened in 2003, and Murray Park’s Paws Park was created a year later in a densely wooded loop formerly used mainly for suspicious activity where the cars parked in backward and the drivers pretended to be reading.
Woof in the Woods opened in Maumelle in 2008, and MacArthur Park’s Downtown Dawgies was christened earlier this year.
Now, Murray Park is ready to set the pace once again with a $14.2 million expansion that will make the facility a canine destination for miles around.
Favorably compared to Pooch Paradise in Seattle andSix Flags Over Fido in Irving, Texas, the sprawling 8.3-acre expansion will feature a plethora of doggy-friendly water-theme play stations, slides, pools, hoses and sprinklers.
“My favorite will be the Dizzy Dogs,” said Little Rock Mayor Mark Stodola, himself the owner of a Maltipoo and a Xoloitzcuintli. “The happy dogs will get spun around and around until they fall off all wet and happy.”
Other attractions will be the Benji Ball Room - a large, shallow tank filled with moldy, old tennis balls that the dogs can chase - and the 101 Dalmatian Hose-off. The hoses, about 20 of them in line, will allow owners to wash their pets after they (the dogs) have gotten stinky filthy from rolling around on the ground.
There will be plenty of squirrels to chase as well because the city is currently trapping the critters in the city’s other parks for relocation to the new facility.
Perhaps the most excitement will be the installation of the state’s first regulation Chihuahua Race Course under the aegis of Southland Greyhound Park in West Memphis. Chihuahua racing is the hottest thing to come along in years, frequently rivaling pig races at state fairs.
Naturally, the race track will be only for sport (no betting!), but Southland will see to it that the course meets the full American Chihuahua Council and National Chihuahua Racing Association regulations for the safety and welfare of the dogs.
Until next time, Kalaka reminds you to bring your Chihuahua to Toadsuck Daze in Conway for the races to be held May 4. The winner gets an all-expenses-paid trip to Conway’s sister city of Delicias, Chihuahua, Mexico, to see the Running of the Chihuahuas Festival in August.
Disclaimer Fayetteville-born Otus the Head Cat’s award-winning column of humorous fabrication appears every Saturday. E-mail:
HomeStyle, Pages 34 on 04/27/2013