Hondo Dog Park is a city

park A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are urban green space, green spaces set aside for recreation inside t ...

Hillsboro, Oregon Hillsboro ( ) is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon and is the county seat of Washington County. Situated in the Tualatin Valley on the west side of the Portland metropolitan area, the city hosts many high-technology companies, ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. Opened in 2007, it is the first dog park in that city. Located on nearly four acres, the park is in the northeast section of Hillsboro adjacent to

Hillsboro Stadium Hillsboro Stadium is a multi-sport stadium in the northwest United States, located in Hillsboro, Oregon, a suburb west of Portland. Opened in 1999 and owned by the city of Hillsboro, the award-winning stadium is part of the Gordon Faber Recreat ...

. Hondo Dog Park is named after a

Hillsboro Police Department The Hillsboro Police Department (HPD) is the municipal law enforcement agency of the city of Hillsboro, Oregon, United States. It is a regionally accredited agency with 127 sworn officers on the force. As of June 2016, the chief is Lee Dobrowolski ...

K-9 unit dog that was shot and killed in the line of duty. The park includes a fire hydrant painted like an American flag as a memorial to the police dog, which received some controversy when the park opened.

Amenities

The off-leash park is located off Northeast 229th Avenue near Hillsboro Stadium and the Sunset Highway.Gordainer, Susan. A Caesar-eye view of Hondo Dog Park Hillsboro's newest park earns five paws from enthusiastic user. ''

The Hillsboro Argus ''The Hillsboro Argus'' was a twice-weekly newspaper in the city of Hillsboro, Oregon, from 1894 to 2017, known as the ''Washington County Argus'' for its final year. The ''Argus'' was distributed in Washington County, Oregon, United States. First ...

'', September 21, 2007. Hondo Dog Park sits on and has three sections.Diehl, Angella Foret. New bark park has room to run. ''

The Oregonian ''The Oregonian'' is a daily newspaper based in Portland, Oregon, United States, owned by Advance Publications. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper on the U.S. west coast, founded as a weekly by Thomas J. Dryer on December 4, 185 ...

'', September 14, 2007. A small fenced in section is for timid and smaller dogs, while the larger portion contains a general playing area and an area designed for all-weather use containing sand. The park opened on September 17, 2007, with a grand opening event held on September 29 for Hillsboro's first dog park. One natural feature at the park is a small hill. Other features include drinking water stations designed for canine use, double-gated entrances, wheelchair accessible gravel paths, and park benches. Many features have dog themes painted on them. The park also features two former fire hydrants donated by Clean Water Services and painted by a local dog association. One hydrant is decorated with cartoon dog characters, while the other is painted with an American flag and known as the "Hondo Memorial Hydrant". The hydrant with the American flag is a memorial to the namesake of the park and is situated atop an base. Within a week of opening officials removed the hydrant painted as an American flag over concerns of disrespect for the flag if dogs used the hydrant,Suh, Elizabeth. Flag saved from dishonor by dogs. ''

'', September 26, 2007. but it was later returned and fenced off to prevent such incidents. The controversy over the flag painted hydrant received international news.

Namesake

Hondo, a

German Shepherd Dog The German Shepherd or Alsatian is a German breed of working dog of medium to large size. The breed was developed by Max von Stephanitz using various traditional German herding dogs from 1899. It was originally bred as a herding dog, for he ...

, was a canine member of the Hillsboro Police Department.Danks, Holly. Hondo: Several police, dog, recognized for valor. ''

'', March 6, 1997. A three-year-old, Hondo won a Silver Medal of Valor from county law enforcement in early March 1997 for taking down a man armed with a knife. He spent two years with the department and helped to catch 32 suspects in total. Denson, Bryan. It’s an absolute zoo out there. ''

'', January 1, 1998. Hondo was killed on March 12, 1997, during a police shootout. A memorial service drew police dogs and officers from around the state of Oregon. Hondo's ashes were spread over the city. He is the only Hillsboro K-9 officer killed in the line of duty. The park’s entrance includes a plaque dedicated to Hondo.

References

External links

Police will look into dog's death at park
{{Hillsboro Oregon 2007 establishments in Oregon Dog parks in the United States Parks in Hillsboro, Oregon Protected areas established in 2007

Amenities

Namesake

See also

References

External links