by John Gessner, August 9, 2001

Off-leash dog park opens in Burnsville

For years, Erin Howell searched in vain for a place where her two golden retrievers could get the exercise they craved.

“I don’t really like to walk in the streets, and I’m sure drivers don’t want me walking in the streets,” Howell said. “It was always a problem for my animals.”

Now she and other dog owners can use the Alimagnet Dog Park in Burnsville’s Alimagnet Park, 1200 Alimagnet Parkway.

Opened July 28, the seven-acre, fenced-in park is the second off-leash dog park south of the river.

The park was planned and built by dog owners, with only a $1,900 city contribution for materials.

Spearheading the project was Garrett Beck, a Burnsville Recreation Department supervisor who owns two 55-pound Siberian huskies.

He launched the idea three years ago when the Twin Cities had only two dog parks, one in Hennepin County and one in Ramsey County.

Since then, new parks have opened in Bloomington and Minneapolis and at Cleary Lake Regional Park in Prior Lake.

“You’ll find every different breed of dog and size of dog at at a dog park,” said Garrett, who lives in Lakeville. “Some of the people that enjoy them the most obviously are people that have large dogs and can’t exercise them just by letting them loose in their yard, because they need more open space.”

Howell visited dog parks in Bloomington and St. Paul with her 70-pound pets, Victor and Hailey, before getting involved with the volunteer group that planned the Burnsville park.

“I was impressed with the people that brought their dogs there because the dogs were all very friendly,” Howell said. “There weren’t any vicious ones. We didn’t have to worry about our dogs being attacked.”

The parks are social settings for dogs.

“That’s a very important piece of the whole picture,” Beck said. “Dogs that socialize with other dogs tend to be happier. They tend to bark less. They tend to not be as aggressive as animals that are cooped up.”

Burnsville’s leash ordinance doesn’t apply within Alimagnet Dog Park. The only other place people are permitted to unleash their dogs is inside enclosed hockey rinks during warm-weather months.

Enclosed by a 4-foot wire fence, the oval-shaped dog park has a mowed trail inside the fenceline but is mostly natural, with trees and a wetland.

“In the middle of it there’s a large water area that the dogs can enjoy,” Beck said. “On hot days it’s nice for them to cool off in that area. And there are some woods they can run in and out of.”

The city asks that users purchase a $10 permit from the Recreation Department to support the park’s upkeep.

“Which is very fair, and I think most people would be willing to pay it,” Howell said.

Park users are asked to clean up after their dogs. Most are conscientious dog owners who will comply, Beck said.

“Because if they don’t take care of (the park), there’s a good chance these places won’t exist, or there won’t be more of them in the future,” he said. The Alimagnet Park location was chosen because of ample parking, natural features and the distance from homes, Beck said. Dog-park hours are 5 a.m. to 10 p.m., Burnsville’s normal park hours.

A “leash-cutting” ceremony will be held at the park Saturday, Aug. 18 at noon. The Petsmart store in Burnsville has donated dog items to give away, including cleanup bags.

For more information on the park or on buying a permit, call the Recreation Department at 896-4500.