By: Kathy Witt

With 63.4 million U.S. households owning a dog, according to the American Pet Products Association, you can bet that dog-friendly Georgetown contributes in a big way to that stat. And this is a place that puts its money where its mouth is or, in dogspeak, its pooches where its parks are.

Here are the top five parks in Georgetown to frisk and frolic with your furry friends:

1. Great Crossing Park* Small Dog Area
A park packed with amenities – state-of-the-art softball fields complete with press box, restroom and concessions, tennis courts, a mile-long ribbon of asphalt for walking and biking, open grassy areas for picnics and playtime, plus boat ramp, a dam and shelter – Great Crossing does not forget its four-legged visitors. Large Dog Area

It offers a designated dog park comprising several acres that includes separate runs for both large dogs and small dogs. There is also a water source for each.

2. Brooking Park/Scott County Community Park*

A real people- and pooch-pleaser with more than 90 acres, Brooking Park is one of the largest park areas in the county, and fully loaded with lighted sports fields and courts, barns and lighted horse show ring as well as a stocked fishing pond, gazebo and the 1.2-mile Mollie Graves Walking/Running Track. Scott County Community Park adds another 67 acres to parkland possibilities in a beautiful setting with a picnic shelter overlooking a pond, sports fields and walking trail.

3. Scott County Dog Park

Just beyond the giant and colorful dog bone arch is Georgetown and Scott County’s first off-leash dog park. It is a tidy and completely enclosed stretch of greenspace located next to the Scott County Animal Shelter and within steps of the Brooking Park walking path. Bonus for humans: bench seating.

4. Peninsula Park*Fur babies and their humans head to the walking trail in this scenic, heavily treed 25-acre park located along Elkhorn Creek.

5. Yuko-en on the Elkhorn All dogs – from the ancient Japanese breed Shiba Inu to the French bulldog to America’s number one breed, the Labrador retriever – can get their Zen on in this 4-season, 5-acre Japanese-style strolling garden. Whether on two legs or four, there is so much to enjoy, from flowering trees and waterfalls to koi fish and sculptures.

*Great Crossing Park, Brooking Park/Scott County Community Park and Peninsula Park are all operated by Georgetown-Scott County Parks & Recreation, which maintains over 500 acres at over 11 park sites and includes three recreation centers, five boat launch sites, two walking trails, two pool facilities and a variety of other passive and active amenities.

From the FIDO File

What puts the “Wow!” in bow wow? Read on:

• National Dog Mom’s Day is celebrated on the second Saturday in May.
• Toto, Lassie and Beethoven are among the most famous canine movie stars.
• Among the most beloved movies starring dogs are “101 Dalmatians,” “My Dog Skip,” “Homeward Bound,” “All Dogs Go to Heaven,” “Old Yeller” and “Lady and the Tramp.”
• The phrase, “let sleeping dogs lie,” was first put in print 641 years ago when Geoffrey Chaucer wrote it in his epic poem, Troilus and Criseyde.
• Pooches love to be pampered. After a day of romping at one of Georgetown’s parks, treat your BFF to a massage and pedi.

Starring pooches in order of apperance: Hazel, Harper, Ziggy and Scout.