Innovative turf makes debut at Los Gatos Creek dog park

Innovative turf makes debut at Los Gatos Creek dog park

By Judy Peterson | Los Gatos Weekly-Times

They’re baaack!

“They” are dogs, large and small, that are once again frolicking at the Los Gatos Creek County Dog Park. The park reopened Dec. 20 and sports new turf known as K9Grass

Los Gatos resident Jeff Hudson was one of the first to bring his pooch out to play. “I’m thrilled,” he said. “He loves it. He goes nuts. I just let him run wild. “The socialization is great,” said Hudson, who has an 11-month-old yellow lab named Jasper. “There’s quite a good crowd that comes in.” A mixed Australian cattle dog named Kevin was in the crowd that Jasper was busy playing with. “It’s a lot better than a walk can be,” Kevin’s owner and Campbell resident Nick Leeburg said. “He gets most of his exercise here.”

The off-leash dog park is near the fly-casting pond off Hacienda and Dell avenues in Campbell. The 1-acre site is actually split into two parks — one for small dogs and another for the big guys. They are fenced in and have pooper-scooper stations and dog-friendly water fountains. The park opened in December 2006, but it was never a hit with dog owners because Fido and friends tore up the real grass. Plus, when it rained it turned into a muddy patch. “I used to drive by and there was nobody here because of the dirt,” Campbell resident Janine Payton said. “Now this whole park is full of ADD,” she joked. “This is great. I might put a patch of it in my back yard.”

The new K9Grass was designed especially for dogs by ForeverLawn, which is based in Albuquerque, N.M. ForeverLawn says the grass drains well and can withstand wear and tear. It also has a knitted structure that helps wick away urine and odors. Kim Daly of Los Gatos was impressed with the state-of-the-art park. “It looks very nice.”