Oskaloosa Bark Park Officially Opens

Dog Park Committee members cut the ribbon to officially open the Oskaloosa Dog Park.

Oskaloosa, Iowa – The paws approve it, at least that is how it appears when local dog owners turn their furry friends loose. The Oskaloosa Bark Park officially opened its gates this week with a ribbon cutting ceremony and comments by R.D. Keep.

Keep used the idea of a bark park as his capstone project for his masters degree from William Penn. Capstone projects can be research-oriented or design-oriented. Solutions are typically interactive, meaning that the end product is something that can be implemented and used.

Once the project for his masters was completed, Keep handed over the plans for the park, and a committee of interested volunteers from the community took up the challenge to make it happen.

The group worked at fundraising and holding events around the community in an effort to raise awareness and the much needed cash. “I couldn’t have done it without my committee,” said Keep.

Keep also recognized the efforts of Rebecca Dickenson in helping to make the park a reality. Keep also thanked his wife “who has put up with me coming home at night from meetings and being aggravated. She always seemed to have the right thing to say.”

The dog park is located just south of the swimming pool in Edmundson Park and is split into two sections for different size dogs.

One ironic fact of the project is that Keep isn’t a dog owner, and has no immediate plans to own a dog, but the park may be handy for a future daughter-in-law who is a dog owner.

Donations for the maintenance fund are still being accepted, with the City of Oskaloosa being the fiscal manager of the park.