« August 2004 | Main | October 2004 »

September 11, 2004

Dog Day Saturday, October 2nd at Hillcrest Park!

Dog Day Saturday is an event to build community interest and kick off a fundraising effort to raise $25,000 to develop Grand Rapids’ first park specially designated for dog owners and their four-legged friends. Dog lovers are encouraged to join the celebration at Hillcrest Park on Saturday, October 2nd from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. The event is sponsored by the City residents’ group Grand Rapids Dog Park Enthusiasts and approved by the City of Grand Rapids.

Dog owners are invited to come meet fellow-dog owners and introduce their pooches to one another. The event is being held within a fenced baseball diamond, with plenty of waste disposal containers. As with the planned new park, owners will be required to pick up after their dogs and follow a few other common-sense rules established by the City.

“A City-led Parks and Recreation Department Off-Leash Taskforce was created last Fall to formulate park specifications and regulations, with the hope of gaining City leaders’ approval for the first park and perhaps create the catalyst for developing future spaces in other neighborhood parks,” said Parks and Recreation Superintendent Tom Zelinski. Unfortunately, the $25,000 funding originally allocated for development of the park was cut as part of municipal belt-tightening earlier this year.

On August 10, 2004 the Mayor and City Commission unanimously approved a resolution that will allow owners to unclip the leashes and let dogs play freely in a specially designated space within Hillcrest Park. It’s estimated that there are over a thousand off-leash parks in the U.S. and Canada today. Midwest cities with one to six parks include Ann Arbor, Chicago, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Milwaukee, Muskegon and Saugatuck. Grand Rapids will soon be added to this list of progressive cities.

Grand Rapid Dog Park Enthusiasts have planned a fast-paced, three-month fundraising initiative with the goal of raising $25,000 by November 30th. “Our goal is to raise enough funds to develop the park, install fencing and open before the snow flies this year,” says Dottie Rhodes, a Taskforce member and founding member of Grand Rapids Dog Park Enthusiasts. “While it is an aggressive goal, analysis of successful park initiatives around the country showed that lengthy fundraising efforts for pet parks are much less likely to succeed.”

“At the Saturday event, we will distribute donation envelopes and information for anyone who wants to make a donation or can help pass the envelopes on to pet-loving neighbors, friends and family,” says Rhodes. Donations of all sizes will be accepted at the October 2nd event and donations paid by check may also be mailed to Grand Rapids Dog Park Enthusiasts, P.O. Box 68172, Grand Rapids, MI 49516.

“We are seeking a major sponsor, who will receive naming rights for the park,” says area resident Dave Kagan, another Task Force member and Enthusiast. Additional sponsorships levels ranging from Chihuahua $10 to Mastiff $5,000 are available.

Hillcrest Park, a beautiful grassy setting on the edge of a ravine has plenty of shade trees and can be accessed by foot or vehicle. It is located at the intersection of Lyon and Benjamin, NE – above and behind the softball fields at Fuller Park. Hillcrest Neighborhood is bordered by Fulton, Fuller, Michigan, and Plymouth Roads and is close to Eastown, Fulton Heights, and Heritage Hill neighborhoods to name a few.

Posted by Gwen at 05:56 PM | Comments (1)