BRAINERD — Buster Park may not be known to those without dogs. But for dog owners and dog lovers, it’s a pet paradise.
The off-leash dog park can be found at the south end of Kiwanis Park. Buster Park opened on June 1, 2013, and was made possible by a donation by Bob Rudsenske in memory of his beloved Boston terrier Buster.
“I’m proud to say that Buster Park is one of the top utilized parks within the city of Brainerd,” said Holly Holm, a destination services specialist with Visit Brainerd, which represents the tourism and hospitality businesses of Baxter and Brainerd.
Frank Lee / Brainerd Dispatch
Holm was on the planning committee and the Parks and Recreation Board at the time of the dog park’s planning. She said the volunteer dog park committee did a lot of research before presenting to the board because of some concerns and objections.
“I also remember people being concerned about barking and also wondering why dogs needed a park,” Holm recalled. “I was willing to remind them that dogs bark when they are bored — not when they are playing with their humans or other dogs.”
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Buster Park is about an acre in size with separate fenced-in areas for shy and outgoing dogs; trees; metal, free-standing hoops for dogs to jump through; benches; tunnels to crawl through; picnic tables; a gazebo; a seesaw; and even fire hydrants.
Dan Hegstad formerly worked with Lakeland PBS as the station manager of KAWB-TV. He said the Initiative Foundation hosted a community meeting about eight years before the park opened, and people were invited to share their vision for Brainerd’s future.
“I had never heard of a dog park, but PBS had a program on dogs and dog parks, and I thought it was a great idea,” said Hegstad, an author, speaker and trainer. “As a result of that meeting facilitated by the Initiative Foundation, we created a committee and began meeting.”
Shannon Brenny, Sarah Jean Hayden, Tony Sailer, Holm and Hegstad were on the committee. Hegstad said not much happened for a couple of years because of lack of funding, but after the Brainerd Dispatch ran a story about the committee’s plan, Rudsenske read it and became involved.
Frank Lee / Brainerd Dispatch
“He called me and said he wanted to pay for it! … We thank Bob for seeing we have a dog park,” Hegstad said.
Rudsenske worked at the state hospital with Hegstad and owned a beauty shop downtown and many rental properties, according to Hegstad, who owns a bordie collie mix named Scout.
“At one point he had wanted to build a dog park and run it as a business, but it just wasn't feasible. Seeing the city wanted to build a dog park, he got behind it 100%,” Hegstad said.
Sandwiched between the Mississippi River to the west and Boom Lake to the east, Buster Park off East River Road is lit at night for visibility. The park is open from dawn to dusk, and there is no fee to use the park. But there are park rules, which can be found at bit.ly/3RLwjR6 .
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“The location was beautiful for people to enjoy. And with a walking trail so close by, and a parking area, I felt like it was the perfect location,” said Holm, a Brainerd Kennel Club board member.
Hegstad said, “As I recall, the fencing, the sign and a few other things were about $11,000 or $12,000. Of course, the city did a lot of work, and I don't know the value of that. The city put in water and maintenance.”
Other cities in the Brainerd lakes area with dog parks include Pequot Lakes, Motley and Crosslake, but none of those dog parks are quite like Buster Park in Brainerd.
“Buster Park is divided into two sections. You'll notice they are labeled more social and less social,” Hegstad said. “Many people would think that we would divide the park into large and small, but we chose social and less social because dogs don't know how big they are.”
Brainerd has only one dog park, but Hegstad would like to see more. The U.S. city with the largest number of off-leash dog parks was Boise, Idaho, with almost seven off-leash dog parks per 100,000 residents in 2021, according to Statista, a provider of market and consumer data.
“As we were planning Buster Park people were worried about barking and poop. What we've found is that the dogs are very happy and don't bark much. And people have been very good about cleaning up after their dogs,” Hegstad said.
FRANK LEE may be reached at 218-855-5863 or at frank.lee@brainerddispatch.com . Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/DispatchFL .
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A doggone good idea led to Buster Park's creation in Brainerd - Brainerd Dispatch
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