POPULAR PLACE—Above, Simi Valley resident Ed McIntosh holds his 11-year-old dog Pepper while his other puppy, Tommi, plays at the Simi Valley Dog Park on Thursday. “Pepper doesn’t really like other dogs, so I hold on to her,” he said. “Tommi is a social butterfly, but not Pepper. She’s a little old for that.” At left, 3-year-old Gracie Campbell tries to get her 1-year-old dog Holly to stop playing with the other pups and come over so visitors can pet her. Sunday will mark the oneyear anniversary of the park’s opening off Lost Canyons Road. On Tuesday morning, Simi resident Robyn Willis kicked around a tennis ball for her pair of dogs, River and Gypsy, to chase and fetch.

It’s a common scene at the Simi Dog Park, particularly for Willis and “the two sisters,” as she calls them, who’ve made trips to the offleash dog park a part of their weekly routine.

Photos by IRIS SMOOT Acorn Newspapers “We came on the first day it opened, and we’ve been coming here regularly ever since,” Willis said.

A year ago this Sunday, Simi’s first dog park opened its gates to hundreds of eager pooches itching to trample across the park’s immaculate lawn.

And except for some spots of thinning grass, the Simi Dog Park has held up well after a year of use, receiving few complaints from dog owners who continue to take their four-legged friends up to the hilltop park so they can run free.

“They absolutely love it,” said Willis of her 9-year-old Australian shepherd mix and 11-month-old French bulldog-Shih Tzu mix. “If they could talk, they would say, ‘Can you get here any faster?’”

Larry Peterson, general manager of the Rancho Simi Recreation and Park District, said public feedback over the last 12 months has been similarly positive.

“The overwhelming response is that it has been well-received and that the dog park is playing a very important role in this community, letting the dogs recreate but also giving people the opportunity to meet each other,” he said. “Essentially, it facilitates community.”

Located at 2151 Lost Canyons Drive and overlooking the softball fields at Big Sky Park, the 3-acre park celebrated its grand opening March 14, 2009.

As with any new facility, the dog park had its growing pains. But Peterson said the park has largely been free of major issues.

The main struggle for the district has been getting the grass to grow evenly. But that trouble comes with the territory, since dogs aren’t landscaping’s best friend.

Mud problems caused by the irrigation system and watering trough were fixed early on. And while the district has re-sodded the park over the past year in high traffic areas, it will reseed the park next month for the first time, said Jim Keppler, senior grounds maintenance supervisor.

“We’ve done a lot of improvements because you learn as you go,” he said.

Though the park relies primarily on self-enforcement of the rules, the district has 10 rangers who stop by the dog park on their regular routes and more frequently if a problem is reported.

After opening day, some residents expressed concern about aggressive dogs. To ease worry, the park district placed a “dog ambassador” at the site for about a month to educate residents on the rules and to monitor the park.

Peterson said there have been no more than five complaints regarding an aggressive dog, and only one dog—a terrier who bit a maintenance worker—has been banned from the park.

In addition, the park district, in partnership with Ventura County Animal Control, held a vaccination and licensing clinic at the park to ensure compliance without having to issue tickets, Peterson said.

Both district officials said the park has continued to attract visitors since opening day, which brought out about 1,500 pet owners and their canine companions. While it hasn’t been that busy since, it can get crowded on weekends.

Keppler, who’s at the park several times a week, said people always tell him how much they love the place. He’s even met visitors from Orange County, Burbank, Pasadena and Van Nuys.

“The parking lot is full almost daily. If it’s a high-wind day, I don’t see them as much,” he said. “But most of the time the parking lot is three-quarters full with cars.”

Jason Velasco and his girlfriend, Sarah Myers, have lived in Simi for just three months but they’re already well-acquainted with the park because they often bring their 6month-old shiba inu puppy, Drake.

Since they live in an apartment, the park is Drake’s “backyard,” and the young couple visit about five times a week.

“It’s good to get your dog out of the house and let them experience new things and let them familiarize themselves with other dogs, make them more pet-friendly and people-friendly,” Myers said.

Velasco has no complaints about the park, saying he’s met many friendly people and everyone keeps it clean. Myers had one suggestion, something voiced before the park was even built: The district should add lights so dogs can play longer, especially in the winter months.

Adrienne Irvine, a Simi native who now lives in Fillmore, said the only issue she has is with the water trough, which she said is difficult to use because the water comes out of the spigot so slowly. “The water is tough to dish out. You spend two hours filling it and it’s gone in five seconds,” she laughed.

Willis agreed the trough can be problematic and said a water fountain like the ones at Corriganville or the Thousand Oaks dog park might work better.

Still, Irvine added that she drives 45 minutes just so her 5-year-old golden retriever, Sammy, and her 6-month-old husky, Rocky, can run up and down the park’s hill.

Both women said the wide open spaces and facilities at the Simi Dog Park are the best around.

“They could not have picked a better spot. It’s just so nice and quiet and serene up here. The view is fantastic,” Willis said. “I think they really hit the mark.”

The park is open from 7 a.m. until dusk. On Thursdays it’s closed from 7 to 10 a.m. for maintenance.

Aggressive dog complaint forms can be filled out online at www.rsrpd.org/park/simidogpark/ simidogpark.html.