The City of Jackson’s four-legged furry residents have a new place to run leash-free.
Sir Woof is a five-year-old pug. His owner is Jackson Mayor, Derek Dobies. He said Mr. Woof is excited to play in the park, which features two separate fenced-in areas for both large and small dogs.
“I think it's a great repurposing of Beech Tree Park, and the proximity to downtown I think is going to allow us to, you know, attract more families and residents to the downtown area," he said.
Dobies said building a dog park was something he wanted to do before his term ended.
"It's something that I put on my State of the City, kind of bucket list of a project we wanted to undertake," he said. "And, in fact, the person that ended up donating the resources to make it possible listened to my State of the City and contacted me shortly afterwards."
The park is named after long-time Jackson resident Betty Dahlem Desbiens. She donated more than $70,000 dollars for the project.
"So I think it's, you know, her love of furry animals and her love of this community that really made this project possible," Dobies said.
Betty’s Dog Park is located in downtown Jackson at the corner of N. Blackstone and Van Buren streets and will be open every day from dawn to dusk.
A ribbon cutting event for Betty’s Dog Park will take place Thursday.