West Dog Park — Attraction in Florida

Not even one star and I will explain. I did the research, I looked up this park, I read reviews and everything pointed to this being a good park and nice people. My dog is a staffordshire bull terrier and I know all the bad rep that goes along with this breed but my Tori is wonderful, not aggressive at all, she is actually a big baby that loves to socialize. My dog Tori is a big baby!! When I went to this park and went in, Tori immediately started socializing. Other dogs started to come up to her and all they did was sniff each other but there was this one dog that came up to Tori and started to sniff her, through all of this all Tori did was stand there and take it. This one dog started to growl and bark at Tori, so Tori naturally started to growl back. Then this dog went after Tori and next thing I know they are growling and barking at each other, it actually looked like they were playing, but this women, I'm guessing is the owner, started yelling for me to get my dog. I was already in the process of getting my dog, but this women kept yelling to get my dog and while she proceed to kick the crap out of my dog, she was yelling. This woman said, " that dog is a piece of st"and then "get that piece of st out of here". While she was saying these things this woman kept kicking my dog. I was trying so desperately to get my dog but things were going so fast and they all kept moving around. I am a dog lover, I love all dogs and I would do anything to help one out, so this woman's behavior, after repeatedly kicking my dog and calling it a piece of s**t just shows me that she is not a true dog lover. Out of all the people that were at this dog park, not one got up to help, they just sat there and watched. My dog did nothing wrong, she only started to growl when this women's dog started growling , barking and going after my dog. This park is terrible, just terrible and all the people there just sat and watched. None of these people are true dog lovers. This park is the worst park ever. This is why I do not give it...

Update Feb 2024. I will not return to this park given the recent, fatal shooting at this park and the general toxic mix of the regulars at the park. And there are many other options in Tampa (city and county).

Update Fall 2023. Some improvements have been made. Such as cleaning up the area with the tubs of water for dogs to sit in. The wood rails around the area are gone and gravel was put down. This made it easier for dogs to get into the tubs and minimized flooding.

Two older men who go here almost daily camp out at the main picnic table, act like they own the place and talk politics and are obnoxious about it. Enough already. I either go early to avoid them or go elsewhere. They are difficult to avoid, since after running around, one of my dogs likes to go to that picnic table area.

This park is tucked away in a neighborhood. It has a large area for small dogs and a huge area for big dogs. Covered picnic table and bench are nice to have at a dog park. Some shaded areas. Parking lot is small, but I have never had an issue finding a spot. Lots of planes fly overhead and low, given the proximity of the park to the airport. I think this is interesting, but can see where the noise may bother some people.

In the several years I have been going to this park it occasionally has the picnic tables and walkways pressure washed, garbage picked up, poop bags refilled and grass mowed. It needs some attention - such as to the big dog area with the tubs that is often muddy and flooded. I hate that for many years the porta potties have been near the dog park. Ick. These are supposed to be temporary but they have been there for years.

I would like to see the portable toilets go away. They are supposed to be temporary, but have been...

Will definitely be back! Extremely large dog park compared to others in the area. Shaded area with picnic tables, access to dog water fountains, plenty of shade from trees. Have been here a couple times, mostly friendly dogs and owners, but even the one run in we had with not so friendly dogs the park is so huge it was easy for us to move to the other end of the park. Definitely our new go to! Only downside is that the ground is pretty sandy and there is a baby pool filled with water at the park, so we end up pretty muddy at the end of...