Onalaska is a small town, and one of the good things about a small town is that a project like a memorial dog park does not get lost. People know it is there, use it, and remember who it is named for. The Mary Ellen Yost Memorial Dog Park sits inside Onalaska City Park, a fenced, off-leash space built in Mary Ellen Yost's memory, and it is the kind of place that makes a town feel like one.
A fenced space to run
Most East Texas properties have open land and a road nearby, which is a bad combination for letting a dog off the leash. A fenced park gives local dog owners a safe place to do it without a hand on the collar the whole time. It is a small amenity that matters a great deal to the people who use it every week.
Why the fence is the whole thing
We build fences for a living, so we notice: nothing about a dog park works without the perimeter. A secure fence is what lets dogs of different sizes run loose together and lets owners relax. The rules are the same ones we use on a dog run at home, at park scale: height for the jumpers, tight spacing low for the small dogs, a buried or tight bottom edge for the diggers, a double-gated entry so one dog cannot slip out while another comes in, and gates that latch every single time. The fence is not the point of the visit, but the visit does not happen without it.
A community space, not just a dog park
Parks like this turn into gathering spots on their own. Regulars get to know each other, the dogs get to know each other, and it becomes as much a place to see neighbors as to exercise a dog. For a town the size of Onalaska that kind of low-key common ground is worth having and worth keeping up.
Our mascot has a dog for a reason. A lot of the fences we build around Lake Livingston exist because of a dog, and we are glad the town has a place for them to run.
A local company in a local community
We are based on FM 356 in Onalaska, and most of our work is for neighbors, farms and businesses within a short drive of the shop. We have nothing to do with running or maintaining the dog park; we just like that it is here. If you are visiting, check with the City of Onalaska for hours and rules, and bring a leash for the walk from the truck.
Dog fences at home
If the park has you thinking about a yard your own dog cannot get out of, chain link, field fence on acreage and privacy fence are the usual answers, and our Onalaska page covers what we build in town.
Frequently asked questions
Where is the dog park?
Inside Onalaska City Park in Onalaska, Texas. Check with the City of Onalaska for current hours and rules.
Did Texas Rural Fence build it?
We are not claiming credit for it, and we have nothing to do with running or maintaining it. We are a local fence company that likes having a fenced, off-leash park in town, and we wanted to point it out.
What makes a good dog park fence?
Height for the big dogs, tight spacing low for the small ones, a double-gated entry so a dog cannot slip out while another comes in, and gates that latch every time. The same things that make a good dog run at home.