A new public dog park named in Binkley’s honor will open on the grounds of Ivanhoe Kennels Saturday, Aug. 28. The park is located at 2970 Shoemaker Road, just north of Lebanon off of Ohio 42.

“Bink’s been my friend for close to 25 years and he’s just an absolute lover of nature and dogs,” said kennel owner Bill Cosgrove.

The two-acre park will be open to the public. Cosgrove said he is planning on holding training classes and also dog and master fitness classes on the grounds. Cosgrove has operated the Ivanhoe Kennels for 15 years and also is a champion breeder of English Springer Spaniels. One he owned was named into the hunting dog hall of fame.

“My wife and I had been planning a dog park for a long time, and she was the one who suggested we name it after Bink,” Cosgrove said. “Once she suggested it, there wasn’t anything else it could be called. It seemed so appropriate because of all his activities with pets and his love of nature.”

Binkley said he assumed his friend had just named a “small lot” after him, but was amazed to discover the two-acre park.

“It was a shock to me,” Binkley said. “It absolutely swept me off my feet.”

Why Bink’s Dog Park?

L.L. Binkley is a lifelong dog owner and advocate; who has been a friend to our family for 25+ years. He is a war veteran, past avid hunter and fisherman, retired teacher, devoted husband and loving father. At 93 years young, Bink remains active with his English Springer Spaniel “Try” and lives at the Otterbein Retirement Community. Bink and Try are two of the community’s most popular residents. Bink is a gifted story teller, and a connoisseur of all things having to with Nature. He is one of the gentlest, patient and kind beings I have ever come in contact with. When it came time to come up with a name for our “New” park, we toyed with a variety of glitzy slogans. Names that might help market our business efforts. But when it came down to it, naming the park after a local hero just made sense.

Plus’s to a Private – Members Only Park

Throughout our research – mostly regarding public parks, we encountered problems with obnoxious dogs, aggressive and even vicious dog attacks occurring at public parks.  We learned of the spread of contagious disease at public parks; most involving some form of “kennel cough” or Para influenza, the most serious though involved a community outbreak of distemper.  We learned that many residents had become frustrated by a lack of monitoring of the park and/or a slow to respond – enter at your own risk kind of management style. Equipped with this information we decided that we wanted to meet every owner and their pets, and we wanted to see proof of current vaccination.  We further feel that when and if you encounter a problem, you ought to be able to talk to someone about it – not beat your head against a bureaucratic wall!

• All pets utilizing Bink’s Park will have provided proof of current vaccinations – reducing the risk of your pet encountering contagious disease.
• All pets will have been through a quick pet assessment and either be determined to be “Safe to Play”, or will be put on a restricted schedule where there is likely to be a negative encounter.
• The Park will be monitored, will be kept clean, and will have a variety of activities and get-together aimed at building buddies for your pet and quality time for you.

Problems and concerns will be addressed quickly – in “real time”, not presented to a board or public official to be dealt with later…or not!