Holmdel dog park marks five years with community celebration

At Bayonet Farm off Middletown Road, Holmdel’s memorial dog park spent its fifth anniversary doing what the best off-leash spaces do: giving high-energy dogs room to run without turning the place into a free-for-all. The May 16 celebration at the Alexander Ching Memorial Dog Park drew owners, families and neighborhood regulars back to the fenced runs that have become part recreation space, part remembrance.

The park carries Alexander Ching’s name in a way that feels lived-in, not ceremonial. Ching, a Holmdel resident born on May 19, 1994, in Red Bank, was first diagnosed with cancer at age 7 and died on December 25, 2018, after 17 years of treatment. The park was dedicated after a generous donation made in his honor, and the Alexander Ching Memorial Fund now focuses on maintenance of the off-leash park and animal well-being initiatives.

That blend of tribute and utility is what has made the park stick. Holmdel Township says the space opened with an official leash-cutting on May 31, 2021, after the idea was first floated in 2019 and approved for construction in 2020. What began as a long-missing amenity in a town that already had seven parks and about 900 registered dogs has since grown into a park with separate fenced areas for small dogs and large dogs, plus three sections covering nearly two acres by 2026.

For owners of energetic dogs, that layout matters. Separate fencing gives smaller dogs a calmer lane, while bigger runners get room to move without colliding with every sniff-break and stop-start play session. The anniversary crowd made clear that the park’s value goes beyond exercise alone. It has become a reliable social hub where handlers know one another, dogs rehearse manners at speed, and families treat the grounds as a regular neighborhood stop rather than a once-a-year destination.

The celebration itself reflected that wider role. Holmdel police brought a K-9 demonstration, a pet illustrator set up for the afternoon, and an ice cream truck gave the event the feel of a block party with a dog park at its center. The mix fit the place. Five years in, the Alexander Ching Memorial Dog Park is still serving the practical need that helped justify it in the first place, while also keeping Ching’s story present every time another dog tears across the grass and another handler settles onto the fence line to watch.