VENICE — Practically every visitor to Venice with a dog at one time or another has exercised their pet on the beach at Brohard Paw Park.
Unleashing your dog in the water may be a novelty, but not many know there is a hidden gem with shade, walking paths, toys, fresh water and benches at Woodmere Paw Park South.
“Venice’s Woodmere Paw Park was built in 1999 after the first dog park on 17th Street in Sarasota was constructed,” said Dorian Hardy, program coordinator for Sarasota County Parks and Recreation. “Apparently, the 17th Street Park was so popular that Parks and Recreation decided to find a place in South County where there was the land and space and that was Woodmere Park.”
It’s located at 3951 Woodmere Park Blvd.
Linda and Bob Hodgkinson, who live at Jacaranda Trace in Venice, praised the park.
“During the last hurricane, the park lost many trees, and it took some cleanup but now it looks normal and beautiful again,” Linda said.
In the large dog exercise area, practically any day of the week, you will find Brittney O’dea and Joe Grouse, owners of Opal and Bowie, who literally run around socializing with other pups in the park.
The couple also do some socializing of their own.
“It’s a like a little-known sanctuary in Venice,” O’dea said. “Someone should write a sitcom about visiting here.”
O’dea and Grouse know many of the dogs and their owners who bring their pets for a run each day.
“We were new to the area and didn’t know anyone,” she said. “Through this park, we have made a lot of friends who are also dog owners.”
Joe Grouse is from England, and one of the dog owners he met is also from England.
“The gentleman is 85 and he owns a dog and both he and his dog arrive at the park each day for exercise,” Grouse said.
The two British natives share stories about their dogs and about England.
“It doesn’t matter how old you are. When you have a pet, you automatically have something in common,” Grouse said.
Nick Smith of Sarasota has two dogs, Arlo and Theo, and he drives to Woodmere at least three times a week to exercise his pups.
“I live in an 800-square-foot apartment, and both these dogs have Australian Shephard in them — they love to run,” he said. “Theo is only three months old, and it is impossible to keep him cooped up in an apartment.”
Ed Kight took his dog Bailey to Woodmere Paw Park after someone mentioned it at the dog beach.
“This is really a nice park and after Bailey experienced the park for the first time, he enjoyed it so much that we kept coming back,” Kight said.
Kight has been taking Bailey to Woodmere Park for the past three years after they discovered it’s cooler and a lot shadier than the dog beach.
Paul Carr has a four-year-old golden doodle and said that everyone at the park follows the rules. He takes his dog Barkley once or twice a week for exercise.
“I like the benches where I can sit and watch Barkley run around,” he said. “At first, Barkley gets friendly with the other dogs; then he settles down and wants to be on his own. All of the dogs have a routine here and it is a large enough place where they can play with the other dogs or just be by themselves.”
Jerry Racine has an older dog named Spotty, and Spotty and Jerry visit the park often.
“There isn’t a lot of places where Spotty can be safely off leash while I can sit in the shade,” Racine said. “Unfortunately, Spotty has this habit of rolling in the sand and after a few minutes of rolling, all of his spots turn one color.
“I know I may have to give him a bath every time we get home but I don’t mind because Spotty is so old and he just loves it here.”
Most Popular
Comments / 0