More Than a Place to Pass Through

Renovated community dog park with shaded trees, benches, rocks, and open spaces for dogs and their owners.

MORE THAN A PLACE TO PASS THROUGH:
BUILDING COMMUNITY AT PIEDMONT PARK’S DOG PARK

For nearly 40 years, Piedmont Park has been part of the rhythm of Susan Antinori’s life. Her relationship with the Park began when she and her husband first moved to Ansley Park. At the time, Susan was a runner, and she and her dog, Georgia, were regular visitors. The years have brought different routines and different four-legged companions, but the Park has remained a constant.

Two curly-haired dogs sitting together on a rock in a green community dog park.

Today, those companions are Charlie and Chaplin, and walks through Piedmont Park are still a regular part of Susan’s day. “I can’t tell you how fortunate, how lucky I feel that we happen to live within a very brief walk to the Park,” she said. “When you live in a city, and especially as busy as Atlanta is getting, Piedmont is really the lungs of the city. It’s a place where you can go and get fresh air and be amongst the trees.”

There are corners of the Park, she said, where the city seems to disappear altogether. “You really feel like you’re 100 miles away,” Susan said. “It’s just an amazing place, and it’s my happy place.”

From Passing Through to Staying Awhile

With so many years spent walking Piedmont Park, Susan has come to know its paths—and its dog parks—particularly well. And over time, she noticed something about the large dog park.

People weren’t necessarily staying.

Before recent improvements, Susan remembers the space as feeling a little tired. A collection of benches sat in a row, “kind of like a bus stop,” while other visitors found spots on boulders or simply walked their dogs from one end of the park to the other. There was one notable exception: a group of regulars who gathered together in the mornings. They had even moved a bench so they could sit closer to one another.

For Susan, it was a glimpse of what the space could become. “That’s when I got the idea,” she said. “We just needed more benches.”

Working with Piedmont Park Conservancy, Susan supported improvements to the dog park that included new benches and boulders. But the goal wasn’t simply to add more places to sit. The placement mattered, too. Rather than lining the benches up independently, they were arranged to make conversation and connection easier—to create places where people could gather while their dogs played.

The idea connected with something Susan had learned through the Conservancy: the concept of a “third space,” a place outside of home and work where people can spend time, encounter neighbors and build community. The dog park was already serving that role for some visitors. Susan saw an opportunity to make it easier for more people to experience it that way.

A Change with a Visible Impact

Today, Susan can see the difference. “Particularly on a weekend, almost every bench is occupied,” she said. “People will sit there. They’ll read. They’ll, of course, look at their phones. They’ll gaze out. I’ve sat there and done some sketching.”

More importantly, she sees people lingering. “Very rarely do they just tromp right through it,” Susan said. “Now they’ll stop to sit for a while, let their dogs run around.”

The physical transformation has changed the feeling of the space, too. “For some reason, it also looks prettier,” she said. “It just looks so welcoming now.”

Community workers installing a new bench during dog park renovations to create a welcoming space for dogs and residents.

That sense of connection extends well beyond the dog park for Susan. Through years of daily walks, the Park has become a place filled with familiar faces—even when she doesn’t know their names. “I have no clue who they are, where they live, but they know me and I know them because we’re in the Park,” she said. “It just makes it even more special.”

A Park Shaped by the People Who Love It

The transformation of the dog park illustrates something much larger about Piedmont Park: the places that bring people together don’t happen by accident. They are cared for, improved and reimagined over time—and philanthropy helps make that work possible.

Susan’s gift grew from years of experiencing the dog park firsthand, noticing what could make it better and choosing to help make that vision possible. Now, she gets to see the result every time she and Charlie and Chaplin walk through.

“It’s just a place you can go now,” Susan said. “You can be there where before you just walk through it.”

For a place Susan has considered her “happy place” for decades, helping others find another reason to stay awhile is a fitting way to give back.

Make a Splash for Piedmont Park’s Dog Park

Love Piedmont Park’s dog parks, too? Join us October 3–4 for Splish Splash Doggie Bash, a special weekend at the Piedmont Park Pool just for our four-legged visitors and their people. Proceeds from the event support Piedmont Park’s dog parks, helping care for the spaces they enjoy year-round. Get your tickets here.

Piedmont Park is shaped by the people who love it. Gifts to Piedmont Park Conservancy help care for, enhance and preserve Atlanta’s Green Heart today and for generations to come.