Cast Your Vote to Help Lawrence Resident Trying to Win a New $500,000 Dog Park for the Township

Lawrence Township resident Kyle Mills was always thinking about designing a better dog park. All he needed was a chance to make that dream come to life. 

Luckily for the college student, he discovered the 2011 Beneful Wagworld Dream Dog Park Contest. 

"I've always been thinking about designing a park that would be better than the one [at Village Park]," Mills said. "I heard about the contest, and it was like, 'What do I have to lose?'"

In truth, Mills has nothing to lose and everything to gain. He is now one of the 20 finalists in the contest and his design could bring a new $500,000 dog park to Lawrence Township.

Voting in the contest is now taking place online. 

Mills said Lawrence Township's existing dog park at Village Park is rundown, with only one tree for shade, "dangerous" holes in the fencing, and gravel and dust that, when kicked up, make it hard for dogs to breathe.

One of the motivations behind Mills' design for a new park is his 1½-year-old Fox Red Labrador mix, Darwin. 

An animal lover, Mills adopted Darwin just over a year ago. It’s a relationship that helped refine his dog park concepts to incorporate elements for all breeds. 

"As far as the elements, Darwin could use all of them," Mills said. "But I wanted to put in concepts that are catered to all types of breeds, something that most dog parks don't present."

"This park would include a swimming hole deep enough for big dogs to swim, but shallow sections for small dogs to stand. There would be an agility section and sand boxes for digging. Plenty of foliage would provide shade, as well as a visual barrier to dogs, preventing fighting at entrances. There would be a section of undulating ground which would allow dogs to spend more energy running up hill, chasing after balls tossed from ball-launchers,” Mills said, describing his design.

“There would be a section incorporating the surrounding woods of the existing dog park to entice the nose of tracking dogs, and underground tunnels with different scents to encourage instincts of terriers,” he continued. “On the perimeter of the park would be a race track with a user-controlled dummy prey, allowing greyhounds and other high pray-driven dogs to go full speed, in a safe and controlled area."

Mills’ interest in all types of breeds isn't a surprise, as his father is a biology professor at The Lawrenceville School and the younger Mills attended the Millbrook School — a prep school in New York that has its own zoo on campus. He is now studying animal science at Rutgers. 

And if you haven't connected the dots yet, Darwin's name isn't a coincident. 

"Of course he's named after Charles Darwin," Mills said. "My dad has taken his classes in the past to the Galapagos Islands, where Darwin did his research, and I figured that name would be fitting. Also, the name of the ship in the water feature at my park would be called the HMS Beagle, the same ship Charles Darwin sailed from England to the Galapagos."

Just like Charles Darwin had assistants on his adventures, Mills and Darwin — the dog, not the scientist — need your help to allow the dog park dream to live on. 

Mills and the 19 other finalists each created a two-minute video explaining what their dream dog park would be like. Mills’ video can be viewed from the media box above.

The contest winner will be determined by online voting and a panel of judges that includes animal behavior experts. The judges will rate each video based on the following criteria:

• Creativity of the dog park design  
• Feasibility of bringing the idea to life
• Effectiveness in demonstrating how life is better together with your dog

You can vote for Mills’ design by clicking here. Voting will remain open until Sept. 8.

While Mills feels his design meets the necessary criteria, he's weary about calling his entry the favorite to win. 

"There are some weaker designs, that won't win. But, I look and there are some designs that are most certainly going to give me a run for the money," Mills said. 

Every vote counts, so if you’d like to see a new dog park in Lawrence Township, cast your vote today!