Mercy Health is partnering with Brian Wholehan to bring Sylvania its first dog park.
SYLVANIA, Ohio —
Sylvania could be getting something many dog lovers think has been missing in the city.
Plans are currently underway for the city's first dog park, and if it all goes to plan, it could be opening very soon.
For the past year, Brian Wholehan has been hunting for the perfect plot of land to call home for Sylvania's first dog park.
"The process has not been easy with this. We've scoped out a lot of different sites," Wholehan said. "We're trying to work with Parks and Rec., but then we had floodplains."
That's when he landed on four acres of land off Central Avenue behind Mercy Health's Emergency Department. Mercy owns the land, so Wholehan went right to the top dog.
"Brian has kind of come out of the scene not too long ago, a few months ago, and reached out to our president at Saint Anne's, Andrea Gwyn, and asked if Mercy would have an interest in working with him on the project behind our freestanding ED," Matt Sapara, vice president of business development and advocacy for Mercy Health said.
And Wholehan's plan worked. Sapara said it was the perfect fit for Mercy's mission of health.
"Exercise, being outside with your pet, they're all really good things," Sapara explained. "But the ones that are maybe a little bit not so obvious, you know, the children with autism that can take advantage of this. This has a direct correlation with patients' pain levels."
Right now, Wholehan is working on funding and hopes to develop more partnerships to build out elements like a parking lot, signage and additional fencing. The goal is to have the fences open and tails wagging by this summer.
"This park will have three sections. One for the small dogs, one for the big dogs and the third section is actually a regrowth area," Wholehan said. "One of the things we also want to do is agility equipment for dogs to train on, dogs to just play on."
While it's all for the four-legged friends, Wholehan thinks it'll be a treat for two-legged ones, too.
"I think it's part of bringing the community together. People that, in the area, just wouldn't otherwise get to know each other," Wholehan said. "It's another thing to do. It's a great place to bring the kids."
Throughout the partnership, Mercy Health will remain the owner of the site.
To learn more about the dog park or to partner or volunteer with Wholehan's project, click here.