Dog park opens in Prince William County

It was a rough time for Cate Beal and her cocker spaniel, Luigi, when Beal’s other cocker, Rusty, passed away about a year and a half ago.

The ordeal was anxiety-producing for the Bristow resident and her surviving pooch.

Times are better these days, though, because each has found a new set of friends.

They see them frequently, and they have an awful lot in common.

Beal and Luigi have become regulars at a dog park in the parking lot of the Merrifield Garden Center on Wellington Road.

“For dog lovers, it’s definitely a Godsend,” said Beal, a crime analyst for the Prince William County police.

The dog park has been open only about six weeks, but it’s something the area lacked, Beal said.

“Prince William has needed a dog park so badly,” she said.

And it’s something Merrifield president and co-owner Bob Warhurst said he’s wanted to create for a long time.

Merrifield has had a presence in Prince William for about a year and a half, but its present facility has been open only since mid-November.

The chain’s other two locations, in Fairfax County, don’t have enough room for a doggie den. But when Warhurst realized he could transform an overflow parking area, he went for it.

He said he felt sorry for canines who rarely got a chance to run around.

“I’ve had several people come here since we’ve had this dog park and say, ‘Oh my goodness, this is the first time I’ve had my dog off-leash for two years,’” Warhurst said.

The setup was fairly simple: The Merrifield folks put down a couple inches of mulch and fenced off two areas.

“We have one that’s 40-by-40 for little dogs, and we have one that’s 50-by-80 for larger dogs,” Warhurst said. “I think the real winner here is the dog.”

But perhaps not the only winner. Beal said coming to the dog park relaxes her, in addition to soothing her 10-year-old pet.

“It’s good for me at the end of the day,” she said.

On an average night, she’ll hang out with about six or seven people who bring seven to 10 dogs to Merrifield.

“We’re here for a couple of hours every night,” said Jeannie McCormick, who lives in Manassas.

McCormick and her 8-month-old chocolate lab, Cooper, have become friends with Beal and Luigi.

Labs are known for being rambunctious, and McCormick said the dog park is the right prescription for a hyper hound.

“When he gets home, he just falls over,” she said.

Staff writer Jonathan Hunley can be reached at 703-369-5738.