Citrus County dog park comes with a price to join

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It can be tough for Citrus County dogs to find a place to have fun.

There's never really been a place where dogs can run free without a leash in the county. Unlike some other Bay area counties, there are no dog parks. Some residents have been asking the City of Inverness and/or Citrus County to build one, but that didn't happen.

So George Bryan took matters into his own paws, er, hands and opened Bark Central.

"They showed no interest, in fact, a great reluctance to do anything about it," Bryan said about the county building a dog park. "The only way to come about it would be a private park."

So Bryan built it, and dog lovers came. So far 80 dog owners have paid to be a part of the canine country club, a private dog park.

At Bark Central, dog owners pay $300 a year, or $30 a month, to belong. Dog owner Linda Anderson says its worth every penny. She says her dog Lucy has been better behaved since she's gotten more exercise at Bark Central.

"It's just incredible what, the last almost two weeks," Anderson said. "A different dog."

Other dog owners, like Helen Ellison, appreciate the fact that while dogs still act like dogs, they're all well behaved, unlike at some public parks she's been too.

"And they really don't check their dogs (at public parks), so you don't know if they're going to be aggressive or not," Ellison said. "But here, George has a good system of checking other dogs."

The system is simple: before any dogs are allowed inside the park, they first have to pass the Gretchen Test. Gretchen, one of the owner's dogs, can apparently sniff out if another dog is going to be trouble.

There are a few more rules dogs and their owners must follow to be allowed to join Bark Central. Dogs must be up to date on vaccinations as well as be spayed or neutered.

The dog park is located on Turner Camp Road in Inverness.

More Citrus County Stories

• Citrus County opens first hurricane shelter for pets

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