Celebrities attending dog park unveiling

Published 10:18 am Thursday, July 5, 2012

By NEAL WAGNER / City Editor

A pair of nationally known celebrities will help Alabaster unveil its new Beneful Dream Dog Park at Veterans Park during a July 12 ceremony.

Stonestreet

During the ceremony, which will be at Veterans Park off Alabama 119 from 11 a.m.-1 p.m., Emmy Award-winning actor Eric Stonestreet from the TV show “Modern Family” will help unveil one of the only off-leash Beneful Dream Dog Parks in the world.

Jason Cameraon, a licensed contractor and host of DIY Network’s show “Desperate Landscapes,” managed the park’s renovation and will also be on hand for the unveiling.

Alabaster and Beneful officials broke ground on the new dog park in February after former Shelby County Humane Society director Jenny Wilson won the 2011 Beneful Dream Dog Park Contest by best answering the question “If you had $500,000 to create a dream dog park for you and your best buddy, what would you do?”

After winning the contest, Alabaster officials said Wilson “fought” to bring the dog park to Veterans Park because she found her adopted dog Honey Belle near the park several years ago.

As a result, Veterans Park soon will have a dog park complete with custom-designed water splash pads, a fetch football field with fire hydrant goal posts, a climbing hill, a doggie wash station and an “adventure path” with tunnels and agility hoops.

In addition to the television celebrities, the unveiling ceremony also will feature Wilson and Honey Belle, Alabaster Mayor David Frings, pet expert Arden Moore and hundreds of local dogs and owners enjoying the park.

The event will feature several activities, such as dancing with dogs, paw painting and a photo booth.