From sometime back in the '60s a small, fenced area of about a quarter acre behind the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts was the dog park in Richmond, and there was usually a group of dogs and their friends socializing there.

This area was taken for expansion of the Museum's parking lots and the group was advised in about 1997(?) that they'd have to find a new off-leash dog park. When the group got their notice, they organized as Richmond Dog Owner's Group (R-DOG) and set out to find a more permanent location for a dog park.

R-DOG identified the current location of the park in Byrd Park and negotiated with The City to set aside the land for use as an off-leash dog park. Then, they set out to raise funds for clearing the land and putting up the fence.

Municipal dog parks and designated off-leash areas were springing up around the USA, helping to establish precedents that aided our City Fathers' decision in favor of a dog park. We are pleased that R-DOG secured an agreement with the city's Dept of Parks to fence off the present field in Byrd Park, just beyond The Carrilion and Dogwood Dell at the SouthEast corner of the park. It was named 'Barker Field', with a tongue in the cheek since it arose at about the time that 'Parker Field', an aging baseball/football stadium, met its demise.

The site R-DOG negotiated for us has adequate parking, an acre or more adjacent to the fenced area, since it's at the remote end of a large parking lot that is filled only a few times a year with overflow from events at Dogwood Dell, or 'Arts in the Park'.

R-DOG quickly set out to raise funds, $6,000+, for fencing and other expenses. Where some dog parks require their advocacy group to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars to purchase a suitable lot, R-DOG was able to get an agreement with the city where an 'advocacy group' would raise funds and effort for all that makes the site a 'dog park' and the city would set aside the land for free.

About this time the Town & Country Day School, on Monument just East of The Boulevard, closed its doors and the fenced playground, a large city lot, was turned over for use as an off-leash dog park while the school was being sold and its building returned to residential use. This lot at the NorthEast corner of Boulevard & Monument was sold about 1998, and the users of the ersatz dog park joined with R-DOG as Barker Field was opening. Now, there is a large house there on the corner, one of the two 'mansions' built on Monument Ave in recent memory.

In October of 1998 Barker Field opened to very little publicity, at about the time the lot at Boulevard & Monument was turned over to construction. Since then, Barker Field has been well used and has been a good neighbor for Byrd Park. It has operated as an 'open dog park' where the users are 'self policing', and there are no fees.

In the fall of 2004 R-DOG, Inc. started working under the umbrella of Richmond's SPCA to establish new dog parks North or West of the city and we wish them the best of luck. Other 'Friends of Parks' organizations have not welcomed their advances and want nothing like Barker Field in their park, and we hope R-DOG will be able to change minds and get land set aside at other parks and recreation areas for future dog parks.

In the winter of 2005, Friends of Barker Field began to organize as a Partner of the Richmond Recreation & Parks Foundation. We are recognized by Richmond as the group who raises funds, cares, and advocates for Barker Field.

Richmond's Dept. of Parks, Recreation, and Community Facilities and the Dept. of Works have been very supportive of Barker Field. Their residency at Byrd Park is about a half mile from Barker Field, near Shields Lake, and we cooperate with the supervisor. They provide the valuable service of disposing of the dog poop we bag and place in the super cans, and they occasionally cut of grass and weeds around the fenced area, and take care of our ditches and parking areas. Byrd Park's supervisor, Rocky Edwards, provides advice & consent on any projects at Barker Field, and sometimes organizes equipment and labor for us.

The Friends of Barker Field collects money for the projects that arise, most recently working to solve the drainage problems at the watering area, improve the signs and 'the rules', and to add a 2nd 'double-gated' entrance to the park in later in 2006. We coordinate the delivery of chips, which are spread by volunteers, and at most times can claim to have a very clean dog park, well-maintained by dozens of 'regulars' who are there at most times from sunrise through sunset and in most weathers. On pretty weekends, there are sometimes hundreds of less regular visitors who show up with their dogs, who, for the most part, get along fine....

At this time, June of '06, the city seems inclined to set aside other areas for dog parks. Recently, there has been some activity to get dog parks established in Church Hill's Chimborazo Park, and in Southside's Fonticello Park. Friends of Barker Field encourages those in the city who want a dog park in their neighborhood to set up a Partner relationship with the Recreation & Parks Foundation, which provides excellent support and resources for it Partners, and will facilitate their efforts toward recreation for us and our dogs.