Bark Park

Area for dogs opens on Lyon College campus

Taylor Donnerson, a senior at Lyon College, said she takes her 7-month-old dog, Chance, to the new Schram Memorial Bark Park every day. The college in Batesville started a pet-friendly residence hall this fall and unveiled the park this month. Donnerson said Chance has her personality. “It’s really hilarious. A lot of times he’s very vibrant; he’s very friendly. … He’s not super hyper, just calm and likes to play with his toys most of the time.”
Taylor Donnerson, a senior at Lyon College, said she takes her 7-month-old dog, Chance, to the new Schram Memorial Bark Park every day. The college in Batesville started a pet-friendly residence hall this fall and unveiled the park this month. Donnerson said Chance has her personality. “It’s really hilarious. A lot of times he’s very vibrant; he’s very friendly. … He’s not super hyper, just calm and likes to play with his toys most of the time.”

— Lyon College student Taylor Donnerson used to be afraid of dogs. Now she takes Chance, her standard poodle, to the new dog park on campus.

A “leash-cutting” ceremony was held March 1 for the Schram Memorial Bark Park on the campus in Batesville.

Donnerson, 23, said that when Lyon College opened a pet-friendly dorm this fall, she decided to get her first dog.

“It’s the best thing that ever happened to me; it’s so amazing,” she said.

When Donnerson was growing up in West Memphis, her mother didn’t allow pets.

“Actually, I had a twin sister, so my mother was always, ‘You have a twin, so you don’t need any animals.’ I was never an animal person; I was kind of scared of dogs and cats. I would get close, but I wouldn’t get too close because I never had one growing up, and I wasn’t used to it,” she said.

Donnerson is a resident director, so she lives in an apartment. She is also the president of the Student Government Association, which paid for the fenced pet park. It is in the grassy area between apartment row and a parking lot near the middle of campus.

“I think the bark park is an amazing idea, especially since the school transitioned to a pet-friendly campus, and [the park] actually is utilized by the community, too. I see a lot of people from the surrounding community come with their dogs,” she said.

Patrick Mulick, vice president for student life and dean of students at Lyon College, said the park includes a bench, a water fountain and a waste station. Agility equipment will be added later.

“We’re very excited about it,” he said. “I guess if you had a very brave cat, it could come in there, but the intention is for dogs.”

Mulick said the park was named after the late Mark Schram, an emeritus professor of biology who taught at the college for about 25 years.

“We opened up a nomination process to the whole campus, and we had probably 20 names submitted. We narrowed that down to 10, then had the campus vote on them. The Schram Memorial Bark Park garnered about two-thirds of the vote.

“He died of pancreatic cancer about two years ago. He was a great, great, great professor,” Mulick said. “He was a big dog fan, a big cat fan. His specialty was ecology, so he spent a lot of time outdoors. He was just the consummate dedicated professor.”

When she was in high school, Donnerson met Schram through an Upward Bound program she participated in at Lyon College.

“He was my research professor, and I can remember it like it was yesterday,” she said. “He was so nice and so genuine.

“He had me come into his office, and he asked me what I wanted to be. I told him I wanted to be a brain surgeon; I was like 14. He said, ‘Why do you want to be a brain surgeon?’ I said because they are the highest-paid doctors.

“He said, “You’re not going to be a brain surgeon.’”

Donnerson said she was initially surprised by his remark.

“That was the best advice. … I don’t even study biology. It was true; I was only in it for the wrong reason,” she said. “I don’t even like blood.

“He was there to mentor me and ….what I could truly pursue that would allow me to foster a great future.”

Donnerson, a senior, is majoring in psychology and has applied to the Clinton School of Public Service in Little Rock. She may go to law school and plans to run for political office someday.

Staying in touch with the students is important as SGA president, and Donnerson said the dog park helps her do that.

“I go every single day. Usually, there are one or two dogs when I take Chance to play, and all the dogs on campus and even in the community are really nice and friendly,” she said. “Everyone plays well, and it’s a great time to get to know other students and talk to them and even talk about the dog park. Everyone loves it.”

Mulick said up to 20 students in Bryan Hall can have pets. Emotional-support dogs were already allowed on campus.

The college charges an extra fee to live in the pet-friendly dorm room. Students pay an additional $580 a year, including a nonrefundable $50 and a refundable $100 damage deposit.

He said for this academic year, 12 students have pets, “more dogs than cats.” Students may have one or the other, but not both.

Lyon College President W. Joseph King said in a press release that the college is the only pet-friendly college from Texas to Virginia.

Mulick said in an earlier article that Lyon started offering pet-obedience courses in the spring and will continue those.

“It’s going very well,” Mulick said. “Really, what we’re seeing is a positive impact on our campus. For example, … what you see is people out walking their dogs and other students wanting to stop and pet the dogs. We’re seeing a lot more interaction. You usually see people with their heads down [looking] on their phones.

“The pet-friendly aspect is really changing that,” he said.

Donnerson said it definitely changed her life, for one.

Senior writer Tammy Keith can be reached at (501) 327-0370 or tkeith@arkansasonline.com.

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