Key Points

• Bark for Your Park is PetSafe's national dog park grant program, launched in 2011 to help U.S. communities build and maintain off-leash dog parks.
• Across more than a decade, PetSafe has helped create 111 dog parks in 40 states through the program.
• The first-ever winner was Huntington, West Virginia, which received $100,000 in 2011 to build a dog park in Ritter Park.

Off-leash dog parks change neighborhoods. They give dogs room to run, give pet parents a place to meet each other, and give communities a reason to gather outside. Bark for Your Park™ is the PetSafe® program that helps U.S. cities turn that idea into a fenced acre of grass with a water fountain, a shade tree, and a gate that latches behind you.

This article is the archival record of the program: how it started, how it evolved, the communities that won, and the parks that opened as a result. If you followed Bark for Your Park in your town, applied for a grant, voted for a finalist, or opened a park with PetSafe's help, this is the history.

Table of Contents

• What is Bark for Your Park?
• How the program started
• How the grant program worked
• Program impact by the numbers
• The first-ever winner: Huntington, West Virginia
• Bark for Your Park winners by year
• Bark for Your Park winners by state
• Community stories from the parks
• National Dog Park Day
• PetSafe Unleashed
• Frequently asked questions
• Citations and sources

What is Bark for Your Park?

Bark for Your Park is a national grant program from PetSafe that awards funding to U.S. cities and community organizations to build or maintain off-leash dog parks. Grant amounts have ranged from $5,000 for park maintenance up to $100,000 for a grand-prize new park build, with a typical annual awards pool between $125,000 and $275,000.

The program has run in several formats since its debut. From 2011 through 2015, it operated as a nationwide public-voting contest in which cities campaigned for online votes to win a $100,000 grand prize. From 2016 through 2018, it shifted to a judged application-based grant program that awarded 25 communities per year across three funding tiers. In 2021 and 2022, the program returned in a hybrid format: PetSafe judges selected finalists, then the public voted to determine the winners. [1] [4]

How the program started

PetSafe is headquartered in Knoxville, Tennessee, and the company built a dog park near its offices in the years leading up to 2011. Employees saw firsthand what a fenced off-leash space did for the neighborhood, for the dogs who used it, and for the people who met each other over the fence. That local experience became the seed of a national program.

In 2011, PetSafe launched the first Bark for Your Park contest with a $100,000 grand prize for one U.S. city to build an off-leash dog park. Nominations opened online, finalists were selected, and the community with the most public votes won. Hundreds of cities entered.

How the grant program worked

The mechanics of Bark for Your Park changed with the program's format.

The voting era (2011 to 2015). Cities were nominated by residents, PetSafe selected a slate of finalists, and daily online voting determined the winner. The top vote-getter won $100,000. Runners-up won $25,000 each. Beginning in 2013, finalists were split into small, medium, and large city categories to level the playing field for towns competing against much larger metros. A separate "Bark from Your Heart" award recognized the community with the highest votes-to-population ratio.

The grant era (2016 to 2018). The contest reformatted into a judged application process. Instead of choosing one winner, PetSafe awarded up to 25 grants per year across three tiers:

• $25,000 to build a new off-leash dog park.
• $10,000 to upgrade or expand an existing park.
• $5,000 to help maintain an existing park.

Grants were paired with commercial-grade dog park equipment donated by UltraSite, a PlayCore company. Applications required a letter from the landowner confirming available acreage and a letter of support from a local civic leader or 501(c)(3) organization.

The hybrid era (2021 to 2022). The program returned for its tenth anniversary with a two-step model. PetSafe judges evaluated applications and selected 30 finalists. The public then voted through August to determine the final winners in two tiers: $25,000 for a new park and $5,000 for an existing park.

PetSafe funded Bark for Your Park because the brand's team saw what a single dog park did for the neighborhood around its Tennessee headquarters. The program was designed to help other communities do the same, one fence line at a time.

Program impact by the numbers

The most current cumulative figures published on PetSafe's Unleashed community page are:

• 111 dog parks supported.
• 40 U.S. states reached.
• More than $1.65 million awarded in grants across program history.

Those totals represent every community that received a Bark for Your Park grant plus additional dog park support PetSafe has funded through related community activity. [10]

The first-ever winner: Huntington, West Virginia

The first city ever to win Bark for Your Park was Huntington, West Virginia, in 2011. A resident brought the contest to community leaders, and the city rallied. Huntington, a community of roughly 50,000 people, cast 87,854 votes during the nationwide public vote, beating out about 500 other cities.

The $100,000 grant funded a 3.5-acre dog park inside Ritter Park, one of Huntington's oldest public spaces. Ground broke on August 18, 2011. The park opened June 16, 2012, with a live band, a silent auction, and dog contests. The community raised more than $100,000 in additional donations, and a bone-shaped plaque installed at the entrance recognizes every donor. Ten years later, in 2021, PetSafe revisited the park as Huntington marked its 150th founding anniversary. [1] [2] [3] [4]

Bark for Your Park winners by year

The following is the chronological record of Bark for Your Park grant recipients. Grand-opening dates are noted where available; those often lag the grant year by one to three years because communities design, permit, and build their parks after winning.

2011 (1st annual contest)

• Huntington, WV: $100,000 grand prize, Ritter Park.

2012 (2nd annual, ~$150,000 awarded)

• Texarkana, AR: $100,000 top dog (PetSafe Jef-FUR-son Dog Park at Jefferson Park; 167,373 votes).
• Oak Forest, IL: $25,000 runner-up.
• Derby, VT: $25,000 "Bark from Your Heart" award for highest votes-to-population ratio.

2013 (3rd annual, $200,000 awarded)

• Texarkana, TX: $100,000 top dog.
• Conway, AR: $25,000 large city (Humane Society of Faulkner County).
• Wheeling, WV: $25,000 medium city.
• Mountain House, CA: $25,000 small city.
• Silver Cliff, CO: $25,000 Bark from Your Heart.

2014 (4th annual, $200,000 awarded)

• Waverly, IA: $100,000 top dog (133,545 votes).
• Hattiesburg, MS: $25,000 large city runner-up.
• Port Chester, NY: $25,000 medium city runner-up.
• Tehachapi, CA: $25,000 small city runner-up.
• Enfield, NH: $25,000 Bark from Your Heart (managed by Mascoma Valley Dog Park Supporters).

2015 (5th annual, $200,000 awarded)

• Jacksonville, IL: $100,000 grand prize.
• Watkinsville, GA: $25,000 large city runner-up (WAG Farms Dog Park, Oconee County; park reopened March 2017).
• Merrimack, NH: $25,000 medium city runner-up (The Dog Park at Wasserman Park).
• Fort Gratiot, MI: $25,000 small city runner-up.
• Epworth, IA: $25,000 Bark from Your Heart.

2016 (grant program launch, 25 awards, more than $250,000 from 182 applications)

$25,000 new park grants:

• Emeryville, CA
• Friendswood, TX
• Muskegon, MI
• Durham, NC
• Boston, MA

$10,000 park upgrade grants:

• Bozeman, MT
• Bremerton, WA
• Santa Fe, NM
• Bedford, TX
• Aurora, IL
• Cottage Grove, MN
• Bristol, VA
• Alexandria, VA
• Guilford, CT
• Medford, NJ

$5,000 park maintenance grants:

• Union City, CA
• Cottage Grove, OR
• Yuma, AZ
• Brenham, TX
• Columbus, OH
• Lakewood, OH
• Palm Beach Gardens, FL
• Sanford, ME
• Provincetown, MA
• Owego, NY

2017 (25 awards, more than $275,000 from 215 applications)

$25,000 new park grants:

• Honolulu, HI
• Kansas City, KS
• Allentown, PA
• Baker City, OR
• Big Stone Gap, VA

$10,000 park upgrade grants:

• Columbia, MO
• Beatrice, NE
• Eastlake, OH
• Orange, CA (Yorba Dog Park)
• Encinitas, CA (Encinitas Community Park)
• Jacksonville, FL
• Shorewood, IL (Hammel Woods Dog Park)
• Bayonne, NJ
• Huntington, WV
• Columbus, IN

$5,000 park maintenance grants:

• Birmingham, AL (Remy's Dog Park in Red Mountain Park)
• Norman, OK
• Paducah, KY (Paducah Dog Park at Stuart Nelson Park)
• Bowie, MD (Bowie Dog Park)
• Moab, UT
• Florence, AZ
• Colorado Springs, CO (Cheyenne Meadows Dog Park)
• Truth or Consequences, NM
• Brookhaven, NY
• University Place, WA

2018 (13 awards, more than $225,000, expanded to Idaho, Wisconsin, and Nevada)

$25,000 new park grants:

• Enoch, UT
• Pasadena, TX
• Passaic, NJ
• Pensacola, FL (Studer Family Children's Hospital Dog Park at Ascension Sacred Heart)
• Perris, CA
• Ponderay, ID
• Reno, NV
• Standish, ME

$5,000 park maintenance grants:

• Baraboo, WI
• Dallas, TX
• Rocklin, CA (RRUFF Dog Park at Johnson-Springview Park)
• Savannah, GA (Beasley Dog Park at Mother Matilda Beasley Park)
• Williamsburg, VA

2021 (10th-anniversary relaunch, $150,000 awarded, 10 communities, more than 62,000 public votes)

$25,000 new park grants:

• Binghamton, NY (Broome County, Otsiningo Park North)
• Carbondale, IL
• Creston, IA
• Milwaukee, WI
• Newport, NH

$5,000 existing park grants:

• Fenton, MI (Thompson Road Regional Dog Park)
• Horsham, PA (Horsham Dog Park)
• Hudson, NY (Hudson Dog Park)
• Lihue, HI (Kauai Humane Society Dog Park)
• Tyler, TX (Bossart Bark Park)

2022 ($125,000 awarded, 9 communities, more than 120,000 public votes)

$25,000 new park grants:

• Seneca, SC
• Titusville, PA
• Ephrata, PA
• Tucson, AZ

$5,000 existing park grants:

• West Monroe, LA (Kiroli Park)
• St. Johnsbury, VT (Dog Mountain)
• Marion, OH (Kaufman Dog Park)
• Peekskill, NY (Peekskill Dog Park)
• Lawrenceburg, KY (Hammond Creek Dog Park)

Bark for Your Park winners by state

The same roster grouped alphabetically by state and territory.

Alabama

• Birmingham (2017): Remy's Dog Park in Red Mountain Park

Arizona

• Florence (2017)
• Tucson (2022)
• Yuma (2016)

Arkansas

• Conway (2013)
• Texarkana (2012): PetSafe Jef-FUR-son Dog Park

California

• Emeryville (2016)
• Encinitas (2017): Encinitas Community Park
• Mountain House (2013)
• Orange (2017): Yorba Dog Park
• Perris (2018)
• Rocklin (2018): RRUFF Dog Park at Johnson-Springview Park
• Tehachapi (2014)
• Union City (2016)

Colorado

• Colorado Springs (2017): Cheyenne Meadows Dog Park
• Silver Cliff (2013)

Connecticut

• Guilford (2016)

Florida

• Jacksonville (2017)
• Palm Beach Gardens (2016)
• Pensacola (2018): Studer Family Children's Hospital Dog Park at Ascension Sacred Heart

Georgia

• Savannah (2018): Beasley Dog Park at Mother Matilda Beasley Park
• Watkinsville (2015): WAG Farms Dog Park

Hawaii

• Honolulu (2017)
• Lihue (2021): Kauai Humane Society Dog Park

Idaho

• Ponderay (2018)

Illinois

• Aurora (2016)
• Carbondale (2021)
• Jacksonville (2015)
• Oak Forest (2012)
• Shorewood (2017): Hammel Woods Dog Park

Indiana

• Columbus (2017)

Iowa

• Creston (2021)
• Epworth (2015)
• Waverly (2014)

Kansas

• Kansas City (2017)

Kentucky

• Lawrenceburg (2022): Hammond Creek Dog Park
• Paducah (2017): Paducah Dog Park at Stuart Nelson Park

Louisiana

• West Monroe (2022): Kiroli Park

Maine

• Sanford (2016)
• Standish (2018)

Maryland

• Bowie (2017): Bowie Dog Park

Massachusetts

• Boston (2016)
• Provincetown (2016)

Michigan

• Fenton (2021): Thompson Road Regional Dog Park
• Fort Gratiot (2015)
• Muskegon (2016)

Minnesota

• Cottage Grove (2016)

Mississippi

• Hattiesburg (2014)

Missouri

• Columbia (2017)

Montana

• Bozeman (2016)

Nebraska

• Beatrice (2017)

Nevada

• Reno (2018)

New Hampshire

• Enfield (2014)
• Merrimack (2015): The Dog Park at Wasserman Park
• Newport (2021)

New Jersey

• Bayonne (2017)
• Medford (2016)
• Passaic (2018)

New Mexico

• Santa Fe (2016)
• Truth or Consequences (2017)

New York

• Binghamton / Broome County (2021): Otsiningo Park North
• Brookhaven (2017)
• Hudson (2021): Hudson Dog Park
• Owego (2016)
• Peekskill (2022): Peekskill Dog Park
• Port Chester (2014)

North Carolina

• Durham (2016)

Ohio

• Columbus (2016)
• Eastlake (2017)
• Lakewood (2016)
• Marion (2022): Kaufman Dog Park

Oklahoma

• Norman (2017)

Oregon

• Baker City (2017)
• Cottage Grove (2016)

Pennsylvania

• Allentown (2017)
• Ephrata (2022)
• Horsham (2021): Horsham Dog Park
• Titusville (2022)

South Carolina

• Seneca (2022)

Texas

• Bedford (2016)
• Brenham (2016)
• Dallas (2018)
• Friendswood (2016)
• Pasadena (2018)
• Texarkana (2013)
• Tyler (2021): Bossart Bark Park

Utah

• Enoch (2018)
• Moab (2017)

Vermont

• Derby (2012)
• St. Johnsbury (2022): Dog Mountain

Virginia

• Alexandria (2016)
• Big Stone Gap (2017)
• Bristol (2016)
• Williamsburg (2018)

Washington

• Bremerton (2016)
• University Place (2017)

West Virginia

• Huntington (2011, 2017)
• Wheeling (2013)

Wisconsin

• Baraboo (2018)
• Milwaukee (2021)

Community stories from the parks

Behind every grant is a group of people who fought to make it happen. A few standouts from the program's history:

Friendswood, Texas: an Eagle Scout project

The Friendswood dog park started as an Eagle Scout project. Life Scout Caden Fischer of Troop 442, a Friendswood High School student, chose the park as his Eagle service work and raised more than $11,000 through community fundraisers. PetSafe's $25,000 grant in 2016 completed the funding, and the 1.6-acre park at 300 Briarmeadow Avenue opened in August 2019 with splash pads and separated small-dog and large-dog areas. [5] [6]

Boston, Massachusetts: a permanent park in the North End

Boston's DeFilippo Park sits in the city's oldest residential neighborhood, the North End. A nonprofit called Responsible Urbanites for Fido (RUFF) ran a summer pilot dog park there in 2015. It went well. The 2016 Bark for Your Park $25,000 grant helped RUFF and the City of Boston Parks and Recreation Department build the two-level space into a permanent off-leash dog park.

Pensacola, Florida: at a children's hospital

Pensacola's 2018 grant built the Studer Family Children's Hospital Dog Park at Ascension Sacred Heart. The location was intentional. A dog park at a children's hospital gives siblings, families, and staff a place to breathe together, and it invites therapy animals into a setting where they do measurable good.

Milwaukee, Wisconsin: a dog park under a bridge

Milwaukee's 2021 grant funded a 12,000-square-foot downtown dog run beneath the I-794 bridge between Plankinton Avenue and the Milwaukee River. The site adds a Riverwalk extension open to everyone, dogs included. Organizers had targeted roughly $750,000 in total project funding to make the space a reality. [7] [8] [9]

Binghamton, New York: Otsiningo Park North

The 2021 Broome County grant supported a new dog park at Otsiningo Park North. County parks director Elizabeth Woidt noted at the time that nearly 40 percent of Broome County households have at least one dog. Grant winners like Broome County reflect a broader trend: pet parents are voters, taxpayers, and park users, and off-leash space is public infrastructure.

National Dog Park Day

PetSafe founded National Dog Park Day as the annual kickoff for Bark for Your Park applications and voting. The date has moved between years, landing on May 6 in 2017, May 1 in 2021, and May 7 in 2022, but traditionally occurs during the first weekend in May. National Dog Park Day exists to spotlight the value of off-leash public space, celebrate the volunteers and city staff who maintain it, and give communities a moment to recognize the dogs who use it every day.

PetSafe Unleashed

In 2023, PetSafe marked its 25th anniversary and reframed its community giving under the umbrella of PetSafe Unleashed™. The Unleashed platform continues the brand's work of supporting dog parks and pet-related community initiatives, and it houses the cumulative record of every park PetSafe has helped create. Bark for Your Park sits within that history as the program that started it. For the current status of PetSafe's community initiatives, visit the Unleashed page. [10]

Frequently asked questions

What is Bark for Your Park?

Bark for Your Park is a national grant program launched by PetSafe in 2011 to help U.S. cities build and maintain off-leash dog parks. Grants have ranged from $5,000 for maintenance to $100,000 for a grand-prize new park build, with more than $1.65 million awarded across program history.

When did Bark for Your Park start?

The first Bark for Your Park contest launched in 2011 with a $100,000 grand prize. The first-ever winner was Huntington, West Virginia, which built a 3.5-acre dog park inside Ritter Park.

How many dog parks has PetSafe helped create?

PetSafe has helped create 111 dog parks in 40 states.

How much money has Bark for Your Park awarded?

More than $1.65 million in grants has been awarded through the program.

What were the grant tiers?

The grant tiers varied by program era. From 2011 to 2015, the top prize was $100,000 with $25,000 runner-up awards. From 2016 to 2018, grants were $25,000 for a new park, $10,000 for a park upgrade, and $5,000 for park maintenance. From 2021 to 2022, grants were $25,000 for a new park and $5,000 for an existing park.

Who was the first Bark for Your Park winner?

Huntington, West Virginia, won the first Bark for Your Park contest in 2011 with 87,854 votes. The $100,000 grant funded a 3.5-acre dog park in Ritter Park, which opened in June 2012.

What is National Dog Park Day?

National Dog Park Day occurs the first weekend in May and is an observance founded by PetSafe to celebrate off-leash public spaces and the communities that build and maintain them. It historically served as the annual kickoff for Bark for Your Park applications and voting.

Is PetSafe still supporting dog parks?

Yes. PetSafe's community giving now runs under the PetSafe Unleashed platform, which continues the brand's work of supporting dog parks and pet-related community initiatives.

How many states have Bark for Your Park winners?

Bark for Your Park grants have supported parks in 40 U.S. states.

Citations and sources

1. Wikipedia. "Ritter Park." en.wikipedia.org
2. American Planning Association. "Ritter Park: Great Public Spaces in America 2012." planning.org
3. Greater Huntington Parks and Recreation District. "Ritter Park." ghprd.org
4. Huntington News. "Ground Breaking on Huntington's Pet Safe Dog Park." huntingtonnews.net
5. Click2Houston (KPRC 2). "Fur baby parents, rejoice! Friendswood's first off-leash dog park opens." click2houston.com
6. Community Impact. "Friendswood to open first off-leash dog park." communityimpact.com
7. OnMilwaukee. "Milwaukee dog park plan wins $25,000 grant." onmilwaukee.com
8. Downtown Milwaukee Dog Park. "Downtown Milwaukee Dog Park wins $25,000 Bark for Your Park grant." mkedogpark.com
9. Milwaukee Magazine. "Downtown Could Get a Dog Park Soon." milwaukeemag.com
10. PetSafe Unleashed. "Dog Park Locations." petsafe.com

Author

Written by PetSafe® Guest
PetSafe® Guest contributors are pet experts, trainers, veterinarians, and brand partners who share their knowledge with the PetSafe® community. Articles published under this byline are reviewed by the PetSafe® editorial team before publication.

Last Modified: July 20, 2026

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