I would say that they have done this successfully in Halifax, which has a service dog park. They've opened it up to people with disabilities and their service animals. However, it is equally important to puppy raisers—the people who raise these beautiful creatures from about eight weeks old until they're 13 to 15 months old. Those dogs need socialization. They need to be able to interact with other dogs in order to develop good socialization skills among other animals.
Unfortunately, we can't take our dogs to regular dog parks, because there are potentially aggressive dogs, and our dogs are not trained to deal with that. One aggressive behaviour against a guide dog or a service dog could ruin its career and the rest of its life. Right now, there's about a three- to four-year waiting list to get a guide dog in Canada, so we're very careful with our animals. We take them to special places.
I would love to have a service dog park specifically for service dogs. However, in saying that, I also think there is a component that, the minute I release my dog off her leash, I no longer have support. I don't think that should stop us from having a service dog park. I could take somebody to the park with me who could allow my dog to roam and to play with other animals, and who could help me round up my dog when I'm done and support me in the meantime. Personally, I think it's a great idea.