By CLAY SIDENBENDER

Special to Leader Publications

After nearly eight years of planning, fundraising and delays, “Field of Dreams Dog Park” in Buchanan has finally opened.

Although the dog parade was canceled due to rain showers, many local Buchanan residents and their dogs arrived at the newly opened park at 10 a.m. to run free.

The event kicked off with Mayor Brenda Hess and the dog park committee thanking members of the community for their support on the project.

“What you see here today is the result of a love for pets and the city,” Hess said. “I can’t be any happier. Our city motto is, ‘Life is better here.’ This is just another way to make life better for residents [and for] pets that are family to them and to have a safe place to come run and socialize with other pets.”

Residents were not the only ones excited to see the park finally open — their four-legged friends also expressed much excitement.

Some dogs sniffed their new surroundings and others chased each other up and down the old outfield. One golden Labrador expressed its excitement by rolling around in the marsh, attracting the attention of many owners and their dogs. Dr. Patricia Moore, one of the dog park committee members, said the dog park committee was happy to serve its community. 

“People were very appreciative, they thanked us and they’re interested in knowing how to join the committee,” Moore said. “I can’t say enough how exciting this is for us.”

The park’s opening has garnered attention from outside Buchanan, too. For many years, southwest Michigan residents would have to travel to Elkhart, Goshen or South Bend to have their pooches run free and play. A dog park in southwest Michigan is unprecedented, community members said.

“Over the past week or two, our Facebook page has gotten so many new members,” Moore said. “In fact, I think we got 10 new members yesterday, so we have gone from more than  400 to [nearly] 600 people in Facebook [members].”

According to Moore, the more traction their Facebook page has gotten, the more attention the city of Buchanan is getting, which of course the city welcomes.

While the first phase of the dog park was finding a location and fundraising for the park, committee members had to make some adjustments to the area before opening the area to the public.

“There was some repairs we had to do on the fence where we had to dig up and re-anchor the bottom,” dog park committee chairwoman, Jackie Lowe said. “There was a tree branch down. There was [another] tree down.”

With the second phase, the committee will be bringing in a water fountain and a walkway for dogs.

“The city has actually already offered…to bring the piping up this way,” Moore said. “[Water] will be available. We’ll probably just have a facet.”

Beyond that, the sky’s the limit, committee members said.

“We are planning eventually to make sure there is accessibility to the park,” Moore said, “Someone with a scooter or wheelchair can bring their dog here and exercise the dog and enjoy the park like everyone else.”

While the park serves the dogs living today, the dogs who have passed away serve, as the driving force for getting the park open.

“I had a flat-coated retriever that I lost last year in July,” Rich Low said. “He was the inspiration. That’s the one I was taking to Goshen and it was a vet-owned dog park…the drive sucked.”

“Angel and Abby. They were just neighborhood dogs,” Moore said. “They were part of the reason why I realized how valuable a dog park would be for the community. They passed away two years ago. They’re here in spirit and I know they would be happy to play with the other dogs.”

The committee has a memorial at the park planned for deceased dogs. The memorial will include pictures of residents’ lost dogs hung on the fence of the park. One of the first pictures will be of Angel and Abby.

On Tuesday, the dog park committee will be hosting a “Dog for Dogs” event, where they will be selling hot dogs. The committee will also make an appearance at Thrill on the Hill where they will be selling Klondike bars. The committee is always looking for donations and members for the team. For more information check out Buchanan’s Field of Dreams Dog Park Facebook page.

As the saying goes in the famous “Field of Dreams” movie, “If you build it, they will come.” The committee built it, and the dogs came.