Johns Creek residents and their pets are drooling over a $500,000 renovation planned for the city's dog park.
The prized puppy playground at Newtown Park comes courtesy of resident Pat McNeely, who submitted the winning entry in a Beneful Dog Food contest in May.
"I'm a graphics designer, so to be able to design something from the legs up was a treat," said McNeely, who attended the plan's unveiling Wednesday with his Siberian Husky Koda. "We come here a lot and with the wet grass and the dirt, your dogs get a little dirty."
The contest asked entrants to submit plans and a video answering the question: If you had $500,000 to create the ultimate dream dog park for you and best buddy, what would you do?
McNeely and his family took the ball and played fetch with it.
"I kind of looked at it like, ‘What would I like if I were a dog,'" he said.
Plans call for a rubberized mulch trail around the perimeter of the one-acre park and a water spray area with eight nozzles.
Beneful designers incorporated one of McNeely's key ideas into the plans: a large, bone-shaped ramp with cylindrical tunnels running beneath.
"Actually," McNeely said, "that was my son's [Walker] idea. All of our family threw out ideas."
A scaled-down duplicate park for smaller dogs will be located nearby.
"I loved his design," said Do It Yourself Network host Jason Cameron, who served as a Beneful judge and will supervise the construction. "He really emphasized his relationship with Koda. It really came through to me on the video."
Johns Creek spokesman Doug Nurse said the city's expense will include moving and extending a fence along the northern border of the existing dog park. Beyond that, he said, everything is covered under the Beneful contract.
About two dozen residents turned out for the unveiling Wednesday. Most brought their pets.
"I knew from the start he'd win," said Genette Waldman, holding her miniature Shih Tzu Ivy. "He's so creative."
"I'm looking forward to it," said Pat Pierce, "particularly the water fountain."
Plans call for construction to begin this fall with completion scheduled for the spring.
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