Hollister Bark Park reopens after three-year wait

After three years of being closed and the city spending $415,000 on renovations, the Jerry Gabe Memorial Park, also known simply as the Hollister Bark Park, reopened June 12 with music, speeches, applause, barking and a parade.

“This is amazing,” said Karen Carsillas, who moved to Hollister a year ago. “We’re just as excited as our dog Hank is. We work, so we’ll probably come out here once a week and on weekends.”

Mariscela and Miles Reyes brought their fashionably dressed puppy Sammy to the opening.

“It’s an absolutely wonderful idea,” she said. “We have a pup and we like to take her out wherever we go. We don’t have any kids, so she’s our child. Something like this is just amazing.”

The park, located along San Felipe Road adjacent to the Hollister Municipal Airport, was closed because it was in poor condition and overrun by gophers that had badly damaged the grounds. The park was completely reconditioned with an irrigation system, wire mesh to keep the gophers from burrowing, two separate areas for large and small dogs, an agility playground, picnic tables, a refurbished playground for children and a trail around the entire park.

The park will be open from 8 a.m. until dusk, said Tina Garza, Hollister’s recreation services manager. She said the gates will not be locked, allowing people to come to the park outside of regular hours. 

“Some people like to walk their dogs at five in the morning and they should be able to do so. They can as long as the park isn’t vandalized,” Garza said. 

Mayor Ignacio Velázquez, who showed up earlier in the day with around 20 others to pull some of the last weeds and burrs, told BenitoLink of the three-year ordeal that included the discovery of old practice bombs left behind by the Navy when the airport was a Naval Air Station during World War II. Councilman Rick Perez brought his two dogs, Blanka, a yellow Labrador, and Miya, a white German shepherd.

“This is a dog-friendly city and we wanted to make it a dog friendlier city,” Perez said. “The community gets to come out and exercise, talk to other residents and let our dogs visit.”

Garza introduced the mayor, council members, city staff, the Parks and Recreation Commission, and those who worked on the park as she welcomed over 100 people who attended, along with over 40 dogs. Velazquez explained the park name’s origin, 

“Jerry Gabe was very involved in helping the airport expand. It was one of the first airports in the county,” he said. “This was delayed for a lot of reasons and COVID-19 set us back. The staff did an incredible job to keep on this job. Before we came up with this project we went around and looked at dog parks all around the Bay Area because we wanted to do it right. But it could not have happened without all the volunteers in our city.”

With local officials flanking her, Garza cut the red ribbon and invited everyone to parade their dogs around the park to introduce them to it before turning them loose. When the leashes came off, pleasant mayhem erupted as the dogs chased one another and explored the park with their families.

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