K9Grass installed at Deputy Kotfila Memorial Park

Deputy Kotfila Memorial Dog Park Honors Memory of Fallen Officer

August 9, 2017 (North Canton, OH) – ForeverLawn, the leading synthetic turf company, is honored to be part of the development of a special dog park project honoring the memory of Deputy John Kotfila, Jr., a police officer who lost his life in the line of duty.

Deputy Kotfila Memorial with K9Grass

Deputy Kotfila was 30 years old when he used his police cruiser to stop a wrong way driver on the Selmon Expressway, an act that saved at least one life but cost him his own. When the city of Tampa learned of the relationship that Deputy Kotfila had with his dog Dexter, they decided to build a dog park under the expressway to honor his memory and to recognize his contributions to the city.

The Deputy Kotfila Memorial Dog Park, built under the Selmon expressway, opened earlier this year. The dog park was a joint effort from the Tampa Hillsboro Expressway Authority, the City of Tampa, the Tampa Police Department, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, ForeverLawn of Tampa Bay, the Mark Tucker Foundation, and Lema Construction. With separate areas for small and large dogs, the park provides hills, concrete pillars, and a special antimicrobial synthetic grass made specifically for dogs. The expressway provides cover and shade, which results in a cooler place for dogs and their families to play.

The surface chosen for the dog park was K9Grass Classic by ForeverLawn, the only knitted product in the industry, which offers superior drainage and does not require infill like common synthetic grass.

The park is the fourth dog park in Tampa to choose the K9Grass product, due to the success it has seen over the past seven years of experience working with the product.

The surface chosen for the dog park was K9Grass Classic by ForeverLawn, the only knitted product in the industry, which offers superior drainage and does not require infill like common synthetic grass. The park is the fourth dog park in Tampa to choose the K9Grass product, due to the success it has seen over the past seven years of experience working with the product.

“We are just really proud to be part of a project like this,” said Chris Powell, owner of ForeverLawn of Tampa Bay. “It means a lot to the Tampa community, and you can just see from the turnout here at the grand opening—the police organizations, the news organizations, the City of Tampa—everybody’s really proud of this specific park for all it means.”

About ForeverLawn

ForeverLawn provides innovative synthetic grass products to create better landscapes worldwide. In areas where real grass is difficult to grow or maintain—due to high traffic or poor conditions—ForeverLawn offers a realistic alternative that is beautiful, functional, and durable. In addition to its superior landscape line, ForeverLawn® Select Synthetic Grass, ForeverLawn also offers specialty products including K9Grass®SportsGrass®Playground Grass™GolfGreens®, and SplashGrass™.

ForeverLawn—Grass without limits.

See our Featured Project about the Deputy Kotfila Memorial Dog Park.