Two years in the making

After a series of postponed opening dates, Lexi’s Puppy Patch will be up and running this weekend, with the grand opening at noon April 29 in McKinley Park.

The rally for Lexi’s Puppy Patch started after Lexi Rounds, 18, was killed in a car accident December 2020. Her parents, Jeremy Rounds and Angie Wegscheid, stopped at nothing to get the dog park off the ground.

The family raised funds through Facebook, events and grants. They spoke with city council, parks and recreation and dog owners throughout the community.

In December, Wegscheid announced the grand opening date on the dog park’s Facebook page. “We are excited to get this underway,” the post stated. “We plan to make this quite a big deal with ribbon cutting, etc. Put it on your calendars; we will see you there.”

The park, located between the campgrounds and the historical village, will be long and narrow. They had hoped for a larger area, but said Creston’s parks and recreation department was hesitant to give up additional space.

”It has definitely been a long, hard process,” Wegscheid reflected. “It’s taken a lot more work and effort than I thought it would take. In my mind, we were just building a fence.”

Both Wegscheid and Rounds have said they are relieved at the project coming closer to the end.

”Personally, I’m going to have to find more focus somewhere else,” Wegscheid said. “This has been my pride and joy. It’s been what has got me through some of the tougher times.” She said this project has shown her the love and support they have in the community.

Rounds said his emotion lies in gratitude for the support they have received. “From the beginning, people have volunteered,” he said. “I’m thankful for the journey, getting to meet new people and playing soccer with a bunch of people I didn’t even know.” He said some of the support comes from people who didn’t even know his daughter, Lexi.

They hope the dog park will continue to be an opportunity for dogs and dog lovers to socialize and interact with others. “I look forward to getting to know new people and be able to honor Lexi this way,” Wegscheid said. “It will be nice to have somewhere besides the cemetery to memorialize her.”

For Lexi’s family, there is an overwhelming sense of pride for the project’s progress. “It’s nice to accomplish something and have it done,” Rounds said. “I wish she could be here for it.”

Saturday’s grand opening will feature a ribbon cutting and food from Hy-Vee, with all proceeds going to fund agility equipment for the park.

In a Facebook post, Wegschied invited everyone to join them.

“We can’t wait to have a place to take our pups and meet all of you that have supported us,” Wegschied said.