Published: July 22, 2007 12:09 am      

Dog park dedicated in honor of groomer Judy Rains

The city of Richmond dedicated the new “dog park” section of its Lake Reba recreation complex Saturday to the memory of a Richmond dog groomer who perished in the August 2006 crash of Comair Flight 5191.

Judy Rains, the owner of K-9 Design, and her fiance Brian Byrd, were headed to a Caribbean island for their wedding and honeymoon when they died in the crash.

“I am so pleased that the city is dedicating to Judy’s memory a section of Lake Reba that is devoted to dogs,” said Kathy Trimble, a friend and business partner of Rains. “Judy loved dogs so much,” said Trimble, as she held a 4-month-old English bulldog pup. Trimble and Rains were partners in a dog breeding venture.

Trimble re-opened Rains’ grooming business in December. “Before Judy left, she said, ‘If anything happens to me, I want you to keep my business going,’” Trimble said. Most of Rains’ clientele have returned, she said.

The city already had plans to build a dog park at Lake Reba when the idea arose to name it for Rains, said Mayor Connie Lawson. “We had named a ball field for Brian Byrd, and I thought it would be fitting to name our dog park for Judy Rains.”

The dog park is at the intersection between the Adventure Falls miniature golf course and the Lake Reba children’s playground.

The dog park is fenced with two double-door entries. A picnic table sits under a shade tree near a water fountain designed for both human and K-9 drinkers.

A mailbox by the table contains an assortment of dog toys.

The city wants to continue adding multiple uses to the Lake Reba complex, the mayor said. “I want this park to have something for each and every citizen to enjoy. That is what a regional park such as Lake Reba should be.”

Since she became mayor, Lawson said that in addition to the miniature golf course, the city has built a “chip and putt” course for beginning golfers and outdoor basketball courts.

“I have been happy to seen that many of our Hispanic residents have begun using the Lake Reba basketball courts,” she said. “I think the next thing we may do is create a field for playing cricket. We’ve had so many requests from cricket players. I never realized how many we have. That shows just how diverse our area has become.”

Lake Reba’s horseshoe pitching facilities are “the best in the state,” Lawson said. “That’s why we have so many horseshoe tournaments in Richmond.”

Lawson said Jerry Abramson, mayor of the merged Louisville-Jefferson County governments, was impressed with the Lake Reba complex on a visit to Richmond. “He called me on his way home to ask about the acreage of Lake Reba park. He hoped he could find enough land in Jefferson County to build a replica of Lake Reba there.”

A recreational facility such as Lake Reba “helps makes people want to move to Richmond,” Lawson said.

Bill Robinson can be reached at brobinson@richmondregister.com or at 623-1669, Ext. 267.