(PRESS RELEASE) DAYTON, OH — Dayton, OH, is once again getting national attention for economic-development innovation through dog friendliness. If you’re wondering what dogs have to do with economics, reference National Recreation and Parks Association’s Top Trends for 2022. NRPA’s forecaster, Rich Dolesh, advises, “Maybe one way to take this trend [unprecedented demand for dog parks seriously is to just imagine dogs as taxpayers and consider their preferences accordingly when planning new dog parks.”
People across the nation are clamoring for more and better dog park experiences. The “Dogification of America” has permeated nearly every facet of our lives, and recreation is no exception. Much like parents look for enrichment activities for their human children, dog families seek enrichment for their dog children. Because of this, companion animal play areas have become an important component of regional planning. However, lack of expertise has been an enormous problem. Projects have been stalled or halted for years due to the complicated nature of the undertaking – all while demand from residents and visitors continues to climb. In fact, the knowledge gap is one of the most-reported challenges to the development and management of dog play areas.
To solve the problem, Beth Cherryholmes Miller, founder of Wagtown (Dayton-born nonprofit), has announced the launch of a national program to professionalize dog park development and management. SMART Dog Park Professional Certification is a 30-day program that provides CEU-rated* education and certification. (SMART stands for Safety, Manners, Awareness, Responsibility and Training.) Developed with formidable expertise from Wagtown, SMART is forecasted to be a true game-changer in a much-needed area: empowerment for better experiences in dog-welcoming spaces. “I honestly can’t imagine a better resource to help bring dog-friendliness to any community,” affirmed Richard Lapedes, community leader and champion for the SMART Dog Park pilot project in Yellow Springs, Ohio.
Surprisingly, safety regulations and easy-to-use tools to guide the process of dog park creation are hard to find. A recent study by Wagtown showed that 77% of parks and recreation do not have a master plan to build their dog parks. Moreover, 67% of leaders report that training for dog park play development and management is “Learn as you go, with no real structure.” The absence of best practices and access to ongoing support can lead to projects that fall short of expectations and are hard to manage. Dog parks created in silos miss deadlines, cost more/lose revenue, exhaust staff, negatively impact user groups, neglect considerations about land use and lose opportunities to bring extra value to the community. Worst, they fail to make the most of an amenity that has been proven time and time again to benefit community safety, responsibility, humaneness, local economy, infrastructure improvements and overall health.
“I’ve learned so much about dog friendliness and dog parks, but knowledge is not enough. It can’t stop with me. I needed a sustainable way to make best practices and training available for communities everywhere. SMART Dog Park Professional Certification is the solution,” Miller continued. The program teaches you to rethink what ‘dog park’ means for each community – saving time, money, and headaches. The certification includes a self-paced set of short videos, live AMA (ask me anything) sessions, collaborative virtual workspaces, webinars, plan development tools, tests and offers an ongoing supply of resources to plan, create, evaluate, and improve. The first-of-its-kind initiative will debut at the Ohio Parks and Recreation Association Conference in February 2022. Miller will guide attendees through the process and talk about how communities can meet needs and plan for trends in dog park innovation, training, safety, operations, and success.
As an economic driver and community builder, dog-friendliness has become a crucial part of where and how we choose to live. Prioritized welcoming infrastructure for companion animals is a component of what makes a community dog friendly. But, as Miller reinforces, “anything involving dogs needs vision, a roadmap, and sustainable stewardship. The SMART Dog Park Professional Certification is a great instrument to get us there, and it brings us all along on the journey to real dog-friendliness – where the wag happens.”
wagtown.org