Dog Park article - September 2008

Group for creating dog park in MarionBy Paul FallonTimes West Virginian
FAIRMONT — Pets are an important component in many people’s lives.Scientific evidence indicates that people who own pets live longer than those who don’t. And now officials with the Marion County Parks and Recreation Commission are exploring a way for pet owners and their four-legged friends to have a “doggone” good time. The agency will be holding a public meeting to discuss the possibility of creating a dog park somewhere in the county. The meeting will be held at 7 p.m. Thursday in Room 104 of the J. Harper Meredith Building, said Dan Talbott, MCPARC executive director. “We inviting all interested parties to attend,” Talbott said. A dog park is a fenced-in area where people can take their animals to play. Since Marion County has a leash law, Talbott pointed out that it is hard for pet owner to take their dogs out and let them run free. However, dog owners will be able to let their animals off the leash once inside the fenced-in dog park, Talbott said. “The concepts of dog parks have been around for awhile,” he said. In fact, Monongalia County already has one dog park, and officials with the Board of Park and Recreation Commissioners and the Morgantown Dog Owners Group (MDOG) are in the process of creating another one, Talbott said. A group of Marion volunteers dubbed Fairmont Interested Dog Owners (FIDO), led by David Garcia, have stepped up to establish a dog park somewhere in the county. Garcia came up with the idea to build a dog park in Marion County when he started taking his dog Brewster to the park in Monongalia. While letting his beloved dog play with the other animals, Garcia began to wonder why Marion County did not have a similar facility. “We’re looking at doing some fundraisers,” Garcia said about finding financing to construct the park. He said the park in Monongalia County has two fenced in areas, one for small dogs and one to accommodate the larger of the species. However, he pointed out that although the parks are built specifically with dogs in mind, there not the only animals who benefit. “People can sit around and socialize when they bring their dogs to play,” Garcia said. He added that all sorts of activities can be held at the dog park. He pointed out that if built, are pet owners can come to the facility to participate in Walk with Your Dog Day. He also noted that members of FIDO can collaborate with area animal shelters. The shelters could bring the animals housed there to the park in order to showcase them to would-be owners. “We can do all kinds of fun things with a dog park,” Garcia said. Talbott added that he also believed a dog park would greatly benefit residents in the county. An avid outdoorsman, Talbott pointed out that in today’s society, people tend to live much more sedentary lifestyles. Building a dog park gives people yet another reason to get outside and move around, he said. Talbott said finding a suitable location for a dog park would be one topic discussed at the meeting. He added that he would like to see an area resident possibly donate land to MCPARC where the dog park could be built. “How much money we need for this project depends a lot on where it’s placed,” Talbott said. E-mail Paul Fallon at pfallon@timeswv.com.