Amy Waters first moved to Dallas in 2020 looking for a fresh start. What she didn’t realize was that fresh start would include a dog.
My dad told me about this website called No Kill Shelter,” Waters said. “He kept sending me all these pictures of dogs, and I found Harley.”
And from there a bond was made. Harley is a small, mixed-breed terrier with brown, gray and white fur, and a beautiful, fluffy tail.
“It was great vibes,” Waters said. “He had so much energy, he was just jumping all over us. Just super sweet.”
Waters and Harley started looking for a community to call their own. After visiting a couple of local dog parks in the area, she drove past one very modest and spacious park in Flower Mound called Hound Mound.
It looked very welcoming, and it was just big and open,” Waters said.
She grabbed Harley and off they went to the small dog’s area where they would meet other furry families and discover their new park home.
“I just walked up and I just kind of introduced myself,” Waters said. “From there I just started building this relationship with these people, and they loved Harley. They were just so kind, and they just loved his infectious personality.”
Hound Mound Dog Park offers many amenities: shaded areas with trees and ramps, open spaces for dogs to run around and many watering areas. There’s even a gathering space for the humans. Since opening the gates eight years ago to the public, the park has grown in both size and culture, welcoming and creating a community for all those who visit.
In addition to the cleanliness and warmth Waters felt at the park, she also found something unexpected: a family bond.
“There was one specific person, there: Susan, Waters said. "She became like a mother to me. "When I was going through some stuff, she would watch Harley for me. That meant so much to me.”
In 2022, Amy’s life turned upside down after she was hospitalized for five months with a rare case of COVID pneumonia. With family living out of state, and being new to the area, she turned to Susan Smith for support.
“She was a lifesaver during that time,” Waters said. “She would check in on me while I was in the hospital, as well as watch Harley whenever I wasn’t at my best. I always appreciated her for that.”
From there, Amy and Susan’s friendshipcontinued to blossom. Meanwhile Harley and his new paw pal, Dash --a feisty and clever terrier --were becoming the best of friends as well.
“Harley loved her dog, Dash,” Waters said. “They were best friends. There was just an instant connection between her dog and my dog.”
As Waterscontinued to recover, she and Smith grew close -- they even went so far as to plan Harley’s second birthday party together.
“I had Harley’s second birthday party at the park,” Waters said. “He had a great turnout for his birthday, and he was just so loved, and it was just so much fun. You just feel the love from the people and their dogs.”
For the party, Waters and Smith made doggy treat goody bags. The birthday boy donned a bandana and enjoyed his own cupcake. And one of the party goers, a little chihuahua named Freddie, even sang “Happy Birthday” in his own howling, yappy way.
“Harley, he is, my baby. So, I poured my heart into this party,” Waters said. “We were still kind of new, you know, but people just showed up and, and were happy to celebrate him.”
Hound Mound has been a community touchpoint for others as well. Veronica Fairbanks has been taking her 6-year-old Cavalier King Charles spaniel, Sadie, to the park for more than five years.
“I like the layout. I like the grass.I like the way that it looks, and it seems like the people that come there, and the people that maintain the park, keep it clean,” Fairbanks said.
Fairbanks tried other dog parks nearby, but found issues with lighting, cleanliness and an overall lack of community – everything she eventually found at Hound Mound.
“I really found it during COVID. There is a dog park closer to me, but it's not always the cleanest,” Fairbanks said. “Hound Mound just feels more at home to us.”
During the pandemic, dog adoptions spiked, and people were looking for spaces for peace and community during a difficult time. For many, like Fairbanks and Waters, dog parks provided that sense of community for themselves and their dogs. Even now, the dog park and Hound Mound, continues to be a community touchpoint.
“During COVID, I think a lot of times we don't realize how much we need to interact with other people until you're not interacting with other people,” Fairbanks said. “So, the dog park definitely brought back that sense of community with others.”
