Dog owners eager for new off-leash space to open at Harrison Hills Park

Amanda Trocki and her dog, Nugget, are counting the days until the new dog park opens at Harrison Hills Park in the Natrona Heights section of Harrison.

“He can’t wait to make some new friends,” said Trocki, who visits regularly, waiting for the gates of the play space to be unlocked.

The 1.3-acre site was constructed in the fall by Allegheny County, which owns the 500-acre park off Freeport Road.

County spokeswoman Amie Downs said dogs likely will get their day by the middle or end of May.

“No date has been set yet,” she said.

Residents in the northern part of the county have been clamoring for the off-leash space for years.

Harrison Hills is one of the few county parks that was without a park for furry friends to run free. In the past five years, the county opened two dog parks at Boyce Park in Monroeville, one at Settlers Cabin and one at South Park. There are dog spaces at Hartwood Acres, North Park and White Oak Park in McKeesport.

“Nugget and I are thrilled to have a dog park opening closer to home,” said Trocki, who has been enjoying the space at Hartwood Acres in recent years.

“I wrote to Allegheny County Parks a year or so ago asking if they would consider opening a dog park in Deer Lakes, our closest county park and the park I basically grew up in.”

Harrison Hills’ newest amenity is along Woodchuck Drive, adjacent to the Rachel Carson pavilion in the top section of the park.

It previously was a big, open field, perfect for construction, county officials said. Several trees were taken out to accommodate the work, but they were diseased and ready to fall on their own, county landscape architect Joel Perkovich said.

The design includes two fenced areas, with about 1 acre for larger dogs and an adjoining space for smaller ones.

The spaces are enclosed by 6-foot fences. There are sidewalks and fountains.

Harrison residents Beth and Scott Meadows already are frequent visitors to the park, walking their three dogs near the pond. They have a 10-year-old shepherd mix named Ares, a 6-year-old beagle-Yorkie mix named Freya and a 3-year-old American pit bull terrier, Sabrina.

Beth Meadows is ecstatic the park will be opening soon. She said they’ll likely be at the park even more often.

“The dogs cannot wait for their new park to open,” she said, “and neither can their owners.”