Go Dawgs!

When I was watching football with Dad today (Go Hawks!) I remembered this great dog park I found in Eugene, Oregon. Alton Baker Park is right on the Willamette River next to the University of Oregon. The dog park has a view of the football stadium where the Ducks play. Now you know I'm not fond of the Ducks since Dad went to the University of Washington (Go Dawgs!), but I have to admit that the proximity to Autzen Stadium was pretty cool.
When we first got to the park, we read all of the rules that were posted. Boring! I couldn't wait to get inside the fence to play with pups after staying in a hotel all night. Sometimes I feel shy when I visit a new park, but it wasn't too crowded so I was able to make friends without feeling overwhelmed. I also spent a lot of time sniffing around of course! The park isn't enormous, but is large enough and has different areas that make it interesting. Part of the park is very grassy and has nice shady trees, and part of it is more open and great for chasing balls. In the middle of the dog park, there's a water fountain that has water at human height and at dog height. We all had a lot of fun there, and it was a great place for me to get some wiggles out before we started driving back towards home.

Westcrest Work Party

This past Saturday I took my mom and dad to a work party at Westcrest dog park in Highland Park. I go there almost every day (and sometimes twice a day!) to run around off leash and play with my friends. This park is maintained by volunteers, and looked after with love and care by park stewards Buddy, Barkley, and their main man Steve. The work party was so much fun! I ran into my best girlfriend Ayla as soon as we got there, so I wrestled with her for a while while mom and dad got to work. I helped later by chewing the mulch into smaller pieces and by carrying one of mom's gloves.


Here's more about Westcrest in case you haven't been there yet:
The fenced park is more than 4 acres big! It has so many different areas, so I never get bored there.
There's a big hill with trees at the top. I mostly sniff around the trees in that section, but I know that a lot of dogs like to have their balls thrown up the hill when they play fetch.
At the top of this hill is the separate fenced section for small and shy dogs. A lot of the time no one is in that area, so I don't go in too often.
At the bottom of the hill is a sandy spot with some really cool concrete tubes to run through.
The park also has two big areas with woodchips that are awesome for running around in. Because the volunteers work hard to keep the woodchips around, the park is almost never muddy! I guess some of you guys like mud, but I don't care for it too much.
There is a cool covered area with picnic tables, so if it's too hot or drizzly, mom and dad hang out in there.
Westcrest has a trail within the fenced area so I get to walk around with mom and dad feeling like I'm in the middle of the forest, but they don't have to worry about me running off too far. This is where they like to practice having me come to them when they call my name. I don't see the point, but it makes them happy when I come running!
The park has 2 water fountains, lots of benches, garbage cans for my poop, and plastic bags available.
Outside of the fenced area there are cool walking trails, bathrooms for people, and a nice looking playground for kids.
If we drive there, mom and dad make sure not to leave anything valuable in the car. Mom said I should mention this since both parking lots have signs that say "high prowl area", but I've heard that there has only been one break-in this year.
Mom and Dad love the beautiful view of Seattle that can be seen from one of the higher trails in the dog park, but I'm too busy running to notice!
There are usually lots of tennis balls around in case you forget to bring one!

Make sure to say woof if you see me there!