All Dogs Can Go to Heaven at Shell Factory

The ramps and tunnels are in place, the pool is cold and the racetrack is waving the green flag.

Doggy Heaven, a new dog park in the Shell Factory in North Fort Myers, is holding a grand opening from 12:30 to 4 p.m. Sunday with demonstrations and fun for everyone.

"People love their dogs and they want to come," said Richard Dunmire, chairman of Doggy Heaven. "It's like bringing your child to a picnic or a time out together."

The event will start off with a half-hour non-denominational Doggy Church for pets and their families. Church services will become a weekly occurrence at the park, Dunmire said.

After services, local dog clubs plan demonstrations. Doggy Heaven houses the Southwest Florida Wiener Dog Club, Suncoast DockDogs and the Calusa Dog Agility Club, as well as holding obedience classes.

The park also has a public area that is always available to dogs and their owners.

Doggy Heaven has bleachers, picnic tables and shade trees where spectators can watch the action and enjoy the event.

"It's so much fun to watch," Dunmire said.

Each club has a special area of the park and brings a unique aspect to Doggy Heaven. For example, wiener dog club members will race their dachshunds on a small track.

"(It's) the cutest thing to watch them run," said club president Peggy Kay. "They're pretty quick."

She has two dachshunds, Botsey and Bailey.

Suncoast DockDogs will have a large pool set up and will be hosting "Your Dog Can Do This," where the club will be showing visitors the dock jumping competition. Club president Vicki Tighe said that if there's interest, the club will host "DockDog 101" later.

The agility club will have "Agility 101" as well for those unfamiliar with the sport. In agility, dogs maneuver around a course with ramps and tunnels and other obstacles.

Thinking about getting your dog in on the action? The consensus among all the clubs is to test out the sport before getting too committed.

"Try it to make sure your dog likes it," Tighe said.

The dog clubs have a friendly relationship, often recommending new members to the club that fits them best.

"We have a calendar, we don't interfere with each other because we're in different spots," pet trainer Kelly Legarreta said. "(We're) trying to promote each other."

The idea for the park came about a year ago and the clubs really helped the park's progress, Dunmire said.

"We started this all together," Kay said. "(We have) different interests but the main interest we have in common is that we love our dogs."

The Shell Factory is happy to have the dog park. Tom Cronin, owner of The Shell Factory, said the store and the restaurant are dog-friendly.

"We see more and more people adopting dogs," Cronin said. "There is a market for it and we're going to cater to it."