My son-in-law, Solomon, loved dogs.

When he met my daughter, Sol was, by his own admission, “more of a cat guy.” I remember him telling me that and I thought, Well, this will never work…, referring to the likelihood of long-term relationship success with my daughter, who comes from a relatively dog-obsessed family. I mean, dogs are our business! But, of course, Sol’s feelings about cats vs. dogs was short lived, as a person simply cannot be part of the Bishop family and not love dogs!

My daughter found Rudy, a German Shorthair Pointer/Lab mix, through the local humane society right before meeting Sol. Sol had cerebral palsy, which caused him to walk with a notable limp, but while it did not define his life, it definitely impacted it. And although it wasn’t planned, Rudy eventually became Sol’s service dog! I mean, he was even the ring bearer at their wedding!

Rudy and Sol were truly the best together. Rudy would swim with Sol and assisted Sol back to shore when his legs would get tired. He retrieved golf balls when Sol practiced his chipping and would retrieve anything Sol needed picked up. He really was Sol’s best friend; they were a team and the best match. The mutt from the rescue and the “cat lover” – who would have figured?

And Rudy? What a character all by himself! According to the shelter where Rudy was found, he had a habit of crossing the US/Canada border. After so many “cross country” trips, his previous family threw in the towel and left him at the shelter. But it was destiny because when Cassie went looking for her “college dog”, it was an instant match. This big, brown, goofy dog was meant to be hers… And Sol’s. The three of them would go to WSU together, graduate, have babies; their life was rich with love and laughter. And Rudy was special. That dog was a gift to us all.

Eventually, we lost Rudy years later to cancer and then, tragically, in the summer of 2016, we lost Sol as well.

Sol left behind his family, friends and community and while we truly miss him being with us, we feel the love and joy that reverberates from his life through his children Reagan, Sawyer and baby Bodhi, who came just two months after Sol passed.

So why a dog park? As a professional dog trainer, I’d been mulling for years about why a safe, off-leash dog park didn’t exist in our area. My husband Dave and I shared many conversations with friends and clients about what a safe dog park would actually look like. It was disheartening to see so many young dogs come to our classes with injuries they had suffered at local dog parks. Some of their owners sustained injuries as well! On top of that, I also had this overwhelming desire to do something in Sol’s name that would honor and memorialize his life.

One day, as I was driving down the road, it hit me. The words “SAFE OFF LEASH” as an acronym was S.O.L. That spells “Sol!” And I thought about how Sol crafted beautiful things from wood and metal. What you may have put curbside for trash collection, Sol would see its beauty and the potential to become something totally useful and beautiful. He was a craftsman and if you could not find what you wanted, he could make it for you. So, this made perfect sense to me: Why not make our own Safe Off Leash dog park? Sol’s Park!

And so this journey began — Sol’s Park. We make it safe. We make it fun. We are not just building a physical space where our dogs can play safely. We are also filling it with a community of dog lovers. We are in great company… I can feel it! And I know it’s making Sol smile.

So be good. Do good. And join us at Sol’s.