This KC area retirement village now has dog park for seniors & pets to connect

Riding in his comfortable basket with fluffy ears flying in the breeze, therapy dog Samson travels throughout John Knox Village with his owner on their three-wheeled bicycle. Samson and Michael Kenny are a familiar sight at the 1,450-person retirement community in Lee’s Summit.

Since April, Samson and Kenny have had a new destination — the Village’s new Slawsky Dog Park, where the 11-year-old Bolognese can enjoy time off leash early each morning.

“Samson and I love it,” said Kenny, a hospice chaplain who moved to the Village over a year ago with his wife, Allyson. They now frequently visit their neighbors, including those in the Village Care Center.

The new dog park is another way for residents to make connections and foster community, said Maria Timberlake, Village vice president of senior living.

“Any of us who have been pet owners know that they bring a lot of joy into your life,” she said. “And the companionship that comes along with pet ownership could be heightened for a senior adult who has given up a family home or who has dealt with losing a spouse or the different things that come with aging.”

John Knox Village has been a pet-friendly community for many years, she added, with around 244 residents having at least one pet. Those animals include 165 dogs, 116 cats and two birds.

Funds for the new dog park were raised through the John Knox Village Foundation’s Barks and Rec Campaign with residents donating nearly $128,000, Timberlake said. The quarter-acre park features two separate fenced areas — one for small dogs and one for larger dogs — with benches, a waste station and water fountains for dogs and their human companions. A bone-shaped patio straddles both areas with several large trees providing shade.

The park is named in honor of Anna and Don Slawsky and their beloved dog, Mandi, a 6-year-old Bernese mountain dog. Although Don passed away in 2021, Anna Slawsky said they had both been supportive of a dog park, so she wanted to kick off the fundraising campaign and co-sponsor the new amenity.

“It’s a dog-friendly community, so we really needed a dog park,” she added. “The dog park is also unique in that it actually is handicapped accessible. The gates are automatic, and you can bring in an electric wheelchair or a walker through the gates.”

Village residents Julie and Jay Goodman walk their 9-year-old standard poodle, Nora, three or four times a day.

“She gets us out,” Julie Goodman said. “Thirty below or 110 in the shade, we are out. We’ve often laughed at how we would not be very healthy people if we didn’t have a dog to walk with.”

A longtime volunteer with an area therapy animal nonprofit, Julie Goodman said there are significant benefits to pet ownership such as exercise, lower blood pressure and pulse rate as well as combatting feelings of loneliness or isolation.

“I do a lot of teaching about the healing power of the human and animal bond and especially as it pertains to seniors,” she said, “and it’s clearly evident here.”

“It also gets people talking,” Goodman said. “Half the people we know we’ve met through the dog. They know her name before us. She has friends all over the route.”

Bonnie Berkihiser and Fonzie, her 8-year-old poodle, recently visited the dog park for the first time. Berkihiser has lived at the Village for around 11 years and also believes pet ownership has a number of benefits.

“It gives people something to do, something to be in charge of and it gets a lot of people out walking who maybe wouldn’t be walking and could be more sedentary,” she said.

In addition, the animals can bring joy to non-pet owners. Nora has human and dog friends throughout her route including one man who keeps dog treats in his pocket just for her, Goodman shared.

“The smiles on people’s faces when she runs to them, it’s an acknowledgment of ‘I like you, I know you’ and we don’t always get that in our lives,” Goodman added. “I’ve even had some residents say, ‘My husband’s feeling a little down, can Nora come in and hang out with him for a little bit?’”

Being able to bring a pet to the Village was important to the dog owners.

“We would’ve gone someplace else where we could have a dog if they weren’t allowed,” Berkihiser said.

Kenny agreed that moving in with their pet was essential.

“They’re such good companions. These are our children who never ask us for money,” he joked. “But they love us unconditionally.”

This story was originally published August 20, 2025 at 5:00 AM.