By Judith Roberts
This project is for the dogs.
Louisiana Tech’s School of Design has teamed up with Ruston Animal Shelter to design and build the first free dog park in Ruston, the Bark Park.
A groundbreaking for the project was held March 2 behind the animal shelter, located at 1212 McAllister Drive, and a ribbon cutting is scheduled for the end of Tech’s spring quarter on May 22.
“A dog spends all of their time on the leash if they’re in the city or inside the house, but they want to cut loose and run,” said Bill Sanderson, director of Ruston Animal Control. “They want to get the zoomies. They want to run their energy out, get their exercise. One of the detriments to dogs living in the shelter long term is those dogs not getting the chance to interact with people and get out and see something besides the four walls of their kennel.”
That was how this project was born, he said.
“This is designed for those outdoor runs,” he said. “And this park is open to the public. They can come out, and the kids can go look at the cats (at the shelter) and you can see the dogs out here in the outdoor kennels. It should be a greater experience for the general public to have this big open dog park and let the dogs run.”
Robert Brooks, one of the faculty members involved with the program, said the health of a community could often be seen by how the animals of that area are treated.
“This is a pretty good indication of the health of our community,” Brooks said. “Not too long ago, there was a new animal shelter built because we value our furry friends. And now we’re building not only an entry to a dog park, but we’ve laid the groundwork for a master plan of almost five acres of a park for the whole community.”
School of Design students from a variety of majors are involved in this undertaking, including Taryn Davidson, a third-year studio art student.
“This project has been a chance to learn in a way that feels real and connected to the community we live in,” Davidson said. “Throughout the design phase, we’ve learned how much stronger our ideas become when we combine our different skills – studio, architecture, graphic design and everything in-between. Working side by side has taught us how to communicate, problem solve and trust each other’s strengths.
“It’s been rewarding to see how our individual perspectives can come together to create something that will support the Ruston Animal Shelter and offer something meaningful to the people of Ruston. We are proud of what we’ve designed so far, and we’re excited to carry on that momentum into the next phase.”
And while the dog park will be open to the public who already owns dogs, Sanderson said he hopes that it will continue to increase foot traffic of the two- and four-legged variety.
“Grab a dog or two and come right out the back door,” Sanderson said. “It should make a big difference in the number of animals that we adopt out. The more we adopt, the more successful we are. It makes everything about what we do here better.
“I want to get to 100% adoption. It’s a goal. It’s going to be hard to attain, but if we keep doing things like this, we keep adding to the number that we adopt out. It’s nothing but a benefit.”
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