The country’s largest dog park was dedicated yesterday in León, Guanajuato, providing facilities such as a jogging track, wading pool, green space, an artificial lake, veterinary services and training areas.

Perro Parque is located on 2.5 hectares of land next to the León zoo and was created with a 2.5-million-peso investment (US $129,000) by the zoo and private contributions.

León Mayor Héctor López Santillana said the park is evidence of a society that “doesn’t discriminate.”

“An event like this leads us to recover respect and the integration of society, of our community . . . allowing us to develop in harmony,” said the mayor during the dedication ceremony.

The president of the León Zoological Park council, Francisco Muñoz López, said the goal of the dog park is to “promote contact with nature and respect for all living beings.”

Mexican-American dog behaviorist Cesar Millan was also in attendance, and said the new facility was an example of the way Mexicans open their hearts to animals.

He said he was moved to see the creation of such a park, as his experience growing up in Culiacán, Sinaloa, is one repeated throughout the country: dogs living on rooftops or wandering loose in the streets, “or with lemon necklaces to cure their distemper.”

The dog park will officially open its doors to the canine and human public tomorrow. Admittance is 10 pesos, and the only requirement is that dogs be fully vaccinated.

Source: El Universal (sp)