Places where pooches can run

With the dog playgrounds at San Antonio's McAllister and Pearsall parks becoming more popular, pet owners in other areas, including Alamo Heights, New Braunfels and Universal City, are seeking similar amenities closer to home.

Alamo Heights residents have a host of suggestions for the design of a dog park along Alamo Heights Boulevard near La Jara Boulevard. At a recent public meeting, attendees suggested the acre-plus site include separate areas for large and small dogs, a bag dispenser to clean up after pets, benches, a water fountain and, perhaps, a small pet obstacle course.

Many of those priorities mimic plans for other dog parks in the works. By the end of the year, area residents may be able to take their dogs to the Salado Creek Dog Park at Phil Hardberger Park (formerly Voelcker Park) along Blanco Road, and to Tom Slick Community Park along Texas 151, said Kelly Irvin, public relations manager for San Antonio's Parks and Recreation Department.

The idea for a puppy park in Alamo Heights came out of residents' recommendations for the city's comprehensive plan, which the City Council adopted last May. Brian Chandler, director of community development for Alamo Heights, said the park will be on a shady piece of city property that has limited development potential because it is on a flood plain.

The site has an added walkability benefit because it's near the pool in Alamo Heights and Olmos Basin Park, Chandler said.

A few who attended the meeting requested that only Alamo Heights residents be allowed access, while others advocated keeping the plan for the park simple and open to the public.

Larry Clark, vice president of Bender Wells Clark Design, is designing both the yet-to-be-named Alamo Heights dog park and the dog park at Tom Slick park. Clark expects to have a design concept completed by mid-April. While specific cost estimates are not available for either park, Clark said the average cost for a dog park is around $50,000.

For those concerned about dogs biting and barking, Chandler said dogs' aggression is typically lessened at a dog park because canines consider the park neutral territory. However, some dog owners, such as Jill Angell, who takes her Siberian husky Shadow and her dachshund Rusty to Pearsall Park, said some owners do allow their dogs to become too aggressive in the park, which sometimes results in pet owners calling police if a dog or person gets bitten.

Nearly six years after the city's first dog park opened in Pearsall Park on the city's Southwest Side, spots for both people and pets to socialize will be cropping up on San Antonio's North Side at Phil Hardberger Park and at Tom Slick park on the West Side as soon as this summer.