Dr. James W. Thornton Dog Park

Or call (559) 233-8690 or email dogpark@valleyanimal.org for more information.

• Hannah
  Jun 16, 2023
  Best Park in Town

  totally worth the membership fees. I have been to almost all of the public parks in Fresno/Clovis and at each one I have experienced aggressive dogs and owners that don’t care. my dog has even ingested weed on 5 occasions while at various public parks, this is highly toxic to dogs. so the comfort of knowing that all the dogs and owners that I come across at this park have been vetted and care enough about the place and their dogs to pay to go is enough of a reason for me to go. But even without my personal reasons, they have a doggy pool, separate enclosures for small and large dogs, as well as an agility training park. the people who work there are great!

• Kelly
  Jun 25, 2022
  Love this park

  Started taking my dog here a year ago. She loves the pool and all the space to run and be chased, her favorite game. I like that all the dogs are fully vaccinated and play well. Love this place and highly recommend for any dog owner that wants a fun, open, safe place for their dog to play. Plus there's a lot of events that get held here that are family friendly.

• Kendall
  Feb 22, 2018
  Rude rude rude

  I keep trying to take my dog here because it seems great, except after 3 tried he has yet to be able to go in. After the first attemp they said he needed an extra vaccine for water, no problem we got it done. Second try and apparently he has to have a second shot for this same water vaccine. Ok fine, even though my vet never mentioned another shot I can go back and get a second vaccine. Third time everything should be fine right? No they’ve now added canine influence, which my dog got vaccinated for as a puppy but I didn’t bring proof for. We get turned around once again, even after I checked online to make sure he’d be good to go and saw nothing of this change. Worst of all when I informed the woman at the desk that we wouldn’t be paying for another shot and would just go elsewhere she yelled after us “k hopefully your dog doesn’t get sick then.” I was furious and honestly expected better. I understand the need for vaccine proof but there is no need for that kind of rudeness.

• Patricia
  More than a year ago
  dumb system

  I am only reviewing the "admission process" here, because that's as far as we got. We were traveling to the Palm Springs area (where our 19 month old Golden mix had a GREAT time at an off leash park). We didn't want to do the drive in one day, so I selected Fresno as a place to stay overnight, specifically because this park sounded so nice. I was told on the phone that the "behavioral evaluation" would be this: the woman I was speaking to, would meet our dog, and see how she was at meeting people. Then she would give her a toy, and then try taking it away. Then she would 'get her dog' (which sounded to me, like a trained, experienced evaluation dog wold be used) and see how my dog behaved with another dog. What actually happened, when we got there about 4 on Sunday 11/16: The parking is right in front of a series of chain-link enclosures which constitute the 'park'. When we got our dog out of the car, two large but hidden dogs, several enclosures over, started barking furiously, and were not quieted by their owners. This frightened our dog. The very young woman who was in the little 'office' did not make any attempt to bring our dog inside the building, away from the aggressive noise, to meet her one-on-one, or to test her for possessiveness. All she did was tell us to wait there, beside the parking lot, still in view of the aggressive barking dogs, while she 'went to get a dog.' As soon as she left, I realized she had gone into the no-kill SHELTER to get a random homeless dog with which to test mine. We were required to stay there in a strange area, keeping our dog on leash, after 4 hours cooped up in our car, although she was to be tested for reliability in a leash-free environment. After a too-long wait under stress (5-10 minutes), this girl comes back out with a large black & white pitbull, totally untrained, lunging & straining at its leash. Our young dog, already frightened by the other dogs barking at her, responded with the same kind of barking and lunging (a 'tit for tat' strategy well-known to biologists). There was no way we could calm her enough to approach a dog that she was clearly frightened by, and trying to scare away. So, she "wiped out." I am just amazed that a place that presents itself as being designed for dogs, seems to have staff with no apparent knowledge of actual dog behavior and psychology. (1) Dogs are stressed by being challenged by dogs that are at a distance, that they cannot get up close to, smell, and watch for body language; (2) many dogs are more stressed by meeting a new dog on-leash than off-leash; (3) a shelter dog, living around other dogs all the time, which it cannot interact with, is going to have a constantly elevated cortisol level (similar to a yard dog or a chained dog), and that reflects in its odor, triggering stress in the other dog; (4) many dogs (including mine) recognize different kinds of breeds, and whatever YOUR opinion of pitbulls, MY dog recognizes them & always tries to avoid them, because there are a lot of very pushy, rough ones at the off-leash park where we walk EVERY DAY with our well-behaved dog; (5) dogs are always intimidated and/or challenged by being stared at directly, and here there were both a strange dog AND a human who hadn't made any effort to meet her, coming straight at her, staring straight at her. Maybe this girl is all they can get on a Sunday, and there is a much more dog-knowledgeable person who works there during the weekdays. However, it was a huge frustration and disappointment. I immediately cancelled our hotel reservation for the return trip, and instead we came home through the Carmel area, which has a wonderful off-leash beach, where our dog had a GREAT time, with no problems at all. The plus here, is that we saved $10 on 2 drop-in visits to this place, AND we didn't have to spend another night in grungy Fresno.

• Jim
  More than a year ago
  Best in Central Valley

  We've been members of this dog park since shortly after they opened. For $25 a year, you have full access to two large off leash park areas (one small dog and the other for large breeds), an awesome wade-in pool with fountains, and an agility course area—all individually gated and fenced, and all behind a main keyed gate. You get a key with your membership. We go there several times a week and always have a great time because the dogs at the park are well socialized and love to run and play with each other. The dog's owners are friendly and present. We have had a few occasions when someone has brought in a dog that was a bit too aggressive, however they either realized it and went to another area or we moved to the pool enclosure. If the dog is overly aggressive and persists, the staff can, and have, ban them from the park altogether. The staff at the park is friendly, caring and truly dedicated to the animals sheltered at the facility and to making the park the best experience for dogs and owners alike. This is the best and most unique dog park in the area. Good times for both Fido and their two legged friends.

We haven‘t received any photos of Dr. James W. Thornton Dog Park yet.

Want to feature your creature? Upload a photo of your pet at Dr. James W. Thornton Dog Park! You can also share by using the hashtag #bringfido on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.