Meeting - February 16, 2011

There is a meeting scheduled for Wednesday, February 16th, 7:00 P.M. at the 8th Street Confectionery. We'll be electing officers and appointing board members, as well as discussing the options for making our park handicap accessible. Hope to see you there!

Puppy Mill Awareness by: Sharon Spevok

A puppy mill is a dog breeding facility with the sole purpose of churning out litter after litter for profit. Typically, these animals have inadequate veterinary care, exercise, diet and shelter. Due to the frequent poor breeding conditions, puppies in these mills often suffer from health and/or social problems. Theses dogs are sold in pet stores, auctions, and through the internet.

Puppy mills are a serious problem as breeding for profit has dramatically increased. Thousands of puppy mills exist in the United States as well as overseas. Anything to make a dollar has become the idea, and the innocent animals are suffering for it. It takes you to put a stop to it. Let's help educate people so we can help stop the horrendous practice of puppy mills. If you're looking for a companion, do your research on reputable breeders visiting where the dog is raised or consider a rescue/shelter dog. The Humane Society of the United States has tips on how to avoid buying puppy mill dogs. For more information visit
http://www.humanesociety.org/issues/puppy_mills/
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34751720
http://www.hsus.org/press_and_publications/press_releases/dogs_rescued_from_west.html

Just one of the many breed rescue groups is Lucky Star Cavalier Rescue. I had the rewarding experience of fostering a precious rescued cavalier who was recently adopted by a wonderful family in Pennsylvania. I spent months working with him to overcome his fears. He is on the path to recovery and now accepts the touch of a human hand. Please view the video posted below.

Puppy Mill Rescue - video

"TAIL"-Gate Party!

Come out to our next event at FIDO's Backyard! Show your team spirit by wearing gold and blue to celebrate the opening of football season for WVU at our "TAIL"-Gate Party! Hot dogs, chips, pop, and dog biscuits are free to everyone! Dress your pooch up and share in the fun.

Thursday, September 2nd - 6:00 P.M. to 8:00 P.M.

Hope to see you ready to cheer on the Mountaineers!

Editorial-TimesWV: Recreational dog park at East Marion fine enhancement to area quality of life

As the cool evenings of spring stretch into the warm nights of summer, many pet owners likely will be eager to take Rover out for a leisurely walk.But instead of a quick stroll around the block, more and more people are treating their pets to a visit to recreational dog parks, which are becoming increasingly popular destinations for pet owners and their pooches. In fact, these popular facilities aren’t just reserved for large cities anymore, and a simple search for “dog park” online yields more than 2 million results.Now Marion County can lay claim to its very own facility, “FIDO’s Backyard.” Named after the group that organized its creation, Fairmont’s Interested Dog Owners, the park opened to rave reviews during a grand opening last month and is the latest addition to the county’s park system.The park offers a fenced-in area that is “off­leash,” meaning owners can let their dogs off their leashes to run around and play with other dogs. And just as dogs come in all shapes and sizes, so do the parks designed specifically for them. FIDO’s Backyard covers multiple acres in a wooded area in East Marion Park. The area is a mixture of open fields and woods, where trees provide shade in the summer and protection from the elements and fields give room to play games.The $15,000 facility was paid for through state and county funds — $2,000 from the state and $5,000 from the Marion County Commission — as well as $8,000 in donations from the general public.Members of the Marion County Parks and Recreation Commission (MCPARC) helped by transforming the formerly heavily forested lot into a dog park, and numerous volunteers also lent a hand. Dave Garcia, president of FIDO, said that without the volunteers — who con­tributed financial support as well as hard labor — the park would not have been possible.Everyone who was involved in the process should be praised for his or her hard work and dedication to this project, which not only boosts the overall look of the park, but also gives new opportunities for local residents to get outside with their pets.As Marion County Commissioner Burley “Butch” Tennant said, “This is a nice place for people to bring their dogs — a great addition to our parks system.”But perhaps Richard Walton, a member of the MCPARC board, said it best when he said, “This park is another quality-of-life enhance­ment for Marion County.” Clearly, the new facility is the latest example of the good that can result when the community works together.

County's dog park "fantastic" for area; $15,000 park 'great addition' to system BY J. Miles Layton - Times WV

Every dog has its day, and that day could become a little better thanks to Marion County’s new dog park.“There’s no question, this is absolutely fantastic for the community,” said state Sen. Roman Prezioso, who was enjoying the park alongside his black 80-pound Labrador retriever named Leonardo.On Sunday, dogs and people alike attended the ribbon cut­ting of “FIDO’s Backyard,” the latest addition to the coun­ty’s park system. The multi­acre park is located in a wood­ed area near the basketball courts by Pavillion 5 within East Marion Park.“This is a nice place for peo­ple to bring their dogs — a great addition to our parks sys­tem,” said Marion County Commissioner Burley “Butch” Tennant.Cheri Pourbaix, of Fairmont, brought her little brown, long­haired dachshund named Newton to see the new park. Newton politely declined an interview because he was too busy taking in the scenery. But on Newton’s behalf, Pourbaix said, “Oh yeah, he loves it. He loves this new park.”And love the park Newton should because it offered an enormous fenced-in area where dogs could be dogs. The area will be “off-leash,” a place where owners can let their dogs off their leashes to run around and play with other dogs. But the dogs must be controlled and must stay in the designated area.“The park allows dogs to get acquainted with other dogs in a non-threatening environment,” said Dave Garcia, president of Fairmont’s Interested Dog Owners (FIDO), a group that organized to create the park.Garcia said the park was inspired by Stanley’s Spot in Morgantown. That popular dog park, smaller by compari­son, is a fenced-in area located off the rail trail where dogs large and small meet. The new park relied heavily on volun­teers in terms of fundraising and hard labor to make it a place that dogs like Newton would bark about.Garcia said the park cost about $15,000. The money to pay for the park came from a $2,000 state grant and $5,000 from the Marion County Commission, with the remaining share of $8,000 offered up as donations from dogs’ best friend, people.“The volunteers have been great — without them, this would not have been possi­ble,” Garcia said.Garcia had high praise for Dan Talbott and Mike Koon, of the Marion Parks and Recreation Commission, for transforming a heavily forest­ed lot into a dog park.“They performed miracles in transforming an old, grown up area into a fantastic dog park,” Garcia said.The Marion County Parks and Recreation Commission (MCPARC) will maintain the park. Talbott, MCPARC exec­utive director, said the area will be a mixture of open field woods, which will offer bene­fits to pet owners utilizing the facility because the trees would offer shade in the summer and some protection from the ele­ments, and the fields will give them room to play catch and other games with their dogs.MCPARC board member Richard Walton said, “This park is another quality of life enhance­ment for Marion County.”

FIDO's Backyard

Our dog park's name is official: "FIDO's Backyard"

We are preparing for our Grand Opening Celebration to be held on Sunday, May 30th. Gates will open to the park at noon with a special ribbon cutting ceremony at 4:00 P.M.

We have scheduled a work day for Saturday, May 22nd, to get the area ready! MCPARC workers will be there around 7:30 or 8:00 A.M. Come for the morning or just sleep in and come for a little bit to help out.

Hope to see you Saturday!

Work has begun!

We are excited to share that work has begun on the fencing at the park! Our next meeting will be held on Thursday, April 8th, at 6:00 P.M. at the dog park site. We'll be checking out the progress of the work being done, assessing what else we can do to make the area ready for its opening, and plan for a grand opening celebration. Hope to see you there!

FIDO News

The latest news is that we are waiting for the fencing and signs to be completed. Our grand opening celebration will follow soon after those park necessities are finished. We'll keep you posted as we know anything.

Meeting on August 25th

Dear Dog Lovers,

FIDO will be having a meeting on Tuesday, August 25th, at 7:00 P.M. at Pavilion #5. The pavilion is located at East Marion Park (Wave Tek) and is near the dog park site. We hope to see you there!

Summer 2009

Work has been mostly completed at the dog park site as MCPARC and FIDO volunteers cleared away trees and brush. We hope to have the area fenced sometime in July when the fencing materials are received. Once the signage is obtained and posted, the park will be open for public use.

A FIDO meeting will be held in the future in order to plan for an official opening ceremony. Thank you to all of our supporters as we continue to move forward with the dog park!

Three Rivers Festival Parade & News

FIDO was represented well in the Three Rivers Festival parade through the streets of Fairmont by Kahlua, Majic, Deke, and Brewster. Thanks to Megan, John, Sonja, David, and Kelly for escorting the dogs and getting the word out about the dog park.

A lot of work is being done to make preparations for the fencing to be put up soon. If all goes well, the park will be open in June. A work day is scheduled for Saturday morning, May 23rd, from 9AM until around noon. Bring your work gloves if you are able to help clear some brush.

Our next FIDO meeting will be a cookout held on an upcoming Saturday afternoon. More information on that later.

Next Meeting April 27th

Please plan to attend our next meeting to be held on Monday, April 27th, at 7:00 P.M. We will meet at Pavilion #5 at East Marion Park which is near the dog park site. Leadership Marion is hosting a Cash Bash on May 16th at Westchester Village and half of the proceeds will be going to FIDO, with the other half going to the United Way. Please consider purchasing a ticket - we will have tickets available at the meeting or contact me at kellyjogarcia@yahoo.com.

Hope to see you at the meeting! It should be a nice evening to explore the site as well.

Meeting postponed until April 13th

Due to inclement weather, our next meeting will be held on Monday, April 13th. (Originally scheduled for April 6th). We will begin at 6:30 P.M. with a site walk to see how much progress has been made in clearing the wooded area. The business meeting will follow at 7:00 P.M. at Pavilion #5 which the area closest to the site. We hope to see you there!

Unique park for dogs By: Mallory Panuska

‘Unique park’ for dogs
FIDO members working to secure funding, clean up areaBy Mallory PanuskaTimes West Virginian
FAIRMONT — Marion County dog owners are getting closer to having a local place to take their furry family members for recreation. Members of the Fairmont Interested Dog Owners (FIDO), a group formed recently to create a dog park in county limits, have secured three to four acres of property at East Marion Park for the endeavor. Members of the Marion County Parks and Recreation Commission (MCPARC) also helped the group get this land for the project, which is located behind the softball field at the East Side recreational facility.And now, with spring on the horizon and the weather warming up, FIDO members are making efforts to secure funding and begin cleaning up the area.FIDO frontman David Garcia explained that the park will be shaped like a figure-8 with a mixture of open space and woods. “I think ours is going to be unique in that we have a flat area and a wooded area,” Garcia said. “it’s really going to be a unique park.”Garcia said the group, which is made up of about 20 core members and a total of about 80 others who attend the meetings, borrowed ideas from a dog park in Morgantown.He said the open space will be for the dogs to run around and play fetch and mingle with other dogs, and the wooded space will be for the owners and their pets to walk and hang out in the shade. He said there will be a large portion for big dogs and then a smaller portion dedicated to little dogs so the breeds can be separate. And all around the park there will be signs posted with a set of rules, Garcia said. These rules include making sure the dogs are supervised and under control and also ensuring that if a dog gets out of hand or is not compatible with the other dogs that the owner must apprehend it.Garcia said that he doesn't anticipate too many issues because the park will be neutral territory, and most dogs only get territorial in their own domains.In total, Garcia said the first estimate for the park came in at $21,500, with the main expense being a $16,000 fence that will be put up around the open portion. Last week, Garcia approached the Marion County Commissioners on behalf of FIDO and requested funding help for the fencing. And as dog owners themselves, the commissioners said they were in favor of the concept of creating this type of park.“I’m sold on the whole idea,” Commission President Randy Elliott said. “There are dog owners in this county who go to Morgantown to go to a dog park. It’s a great thing that we don’t have in this county, that now we can have.”Elliott said he and the other two commissioners would look into FIDO’s request and decide what kind of help they can give.Garcia said the group is also hosting an elimination dinner with the United Way on May 16 and is also planning to apply for some other grant funds.In addition to the fencing, Garcia said the group is also looking to purchase signs and benches and also wants to set up a place for the dogs to have fresh water as well as places for waste disposal.If all goes well and the funding comes in, Garcia said he hopes to have the fence up and the park ready for use around June. Garcia said FIDO is planning a work day to clean up some brush and trees at the site in the near future and that anyone who wants to help is encouraged to do so.

FIDO T-shirts!

At the last FIDO meeting, we discussed ordering t-shirts which could be worn during work days at the park and to fund raisers supporting the group. We have been working with Acorn Graphics in Fairmont to design the shirts. Here are the details:
- Shirts will be the color Sand - which is a light tan color
- Size available are youth sizes and adult sizes up to 3XL
- On the front, we propose the 4x4 FIDO logo on the left chest (where a pocket would be but the shirts don't have pockets)
- On the back, we propose a 12x12 design (which is standard size) which would have a big paw print in the middle, the FIDO webpage underneath the paw, and the phrase "More Than a Walk in the Park" in an arch over the top of the paw print. The phrase on the back is certainly up for suggestions so if you have any, please feel free to email the group or myself (wendy.spurling@gmail.com) with your ideas. If we are able to put together an order for 30-35 shirts, the cost should be around $8.00 a shirt (ballpark), or a little more if we order less shirts. We're just going to focus on t-shirts for right now, but hats and other items may be close behind if this goes well. If you are interested in ordering a FIDO t-shirt, please let me know what size and how many of each size so we can get a count for the April 6 meeting. We would like to have the t-shirts for the Cash Bash fund raiser on May 16, so we would like to place the order immediately after our next FIDO meeting, so please have your orders to me by April 6 either via email (wendy.spurling@gmail.com) or phone (412-719-9305).
Thank you!!
- Wendy Jo Spurling

"FIDO goes before Marion County commission to bark for dog park funds BY: Jim Bissett for the Dominion Post

Happy panting and tireless Frisbee-fetching, yes. Leashes, no. Those will be the only rules Marion County's canine population will have to abide by in the county's first-ever dog park, which is scheduled to open this summer. The group that will oversee the operation, Fairmont Interested Dog Owners (FIDO) came out during an evening session of the Marion County Commission on Wednesday to bark for park funds. The park's area takes in three acres in a northern quadrant of East Marion Park, which is just off the city's East Side. David Garcia, the group's president, asked commissioners for $8,000, which is about half the total cost for the fencing that will allow dogs to roam off-leash. The park will be part of the Marion County Parks and Recreation Commission's (MCPARC) network, Garcia said. "We're pretty excited about it," he said. "So many dogs are tied up in the yard, so this is a place where they can really run." As in running in social circles, said Garcia, the proud owner of a golden retriever named Brewster. "The dogs will be able to socialize and get some exercise," he said. "And when you get a bunch of dog owners around, you've got an instant bond." Counting fences and new signs, Garcia said, the technical cost of the park will be $21,500. Operating it under MCPARC means the group won't have to apply for nonprofit status. The park will be a mix of hilly, wooded trails and flat expanses free of trees, he said, and the area FIDO marked had been unused previously. Having a park catering to a canine clientele in the county means owners will no longer have to drive to Morgantown and other locales in order to see Spot run, Garcia said. The county will fetch an answer for FIDO next week, Commission President Randy Elliott said, adding that he and his fellow commissioners are all dog owners. "I don't have to tell you you're preaching to the choir with us," he said to Garcia. FIDO also wants to get the city of Fairmont involved, which might not be barking up the wrong tree, since Deputy Mayor Bill Burdick (the proud owner of Katie, a black lab) is also a member. For information on the organization and the park, visit www.fairmontinteresteddogowners.blogspot.com. Commissioners, meanwhile, are on a short leash this week. They'll meet Friday morning to sign off on he county's roughly $10 million operating budget for fiscal year 2009-'10.

FIDO on WBOY News

Check out this link to a news story and clip about the dog park. We had lots of help that day and have made great progress!

http://www.wboy.com/story.cfm?func=viewstory&storyid=54950

We need your help!

As we are already halfway through March, we are really needing to get the site area cleared. David and Steve walked the site this past Saturday to determine what needed to be done. They began work clearing the area with help from a great bunch of MCPARC volunteers. Now we really need help from our FIDO members.

Please look ahead on your March and early April calendars - every Saturday morning that it doesn't rain will be an opportunity to help. The outlook is good for a nice day this Saturday, March 21st - we will begin at 9AM. Also, David and I will be at the park tomorrow, Wednesday night, beginning at 5:30 P.M. until dark. If you can come for a couple of hours or only one, please plan to help out. We have put in a lot of hours in planning for our dog park; let's be sure to put in the sweat equity as well.

The only thing you have to have when coming out to help at the site is a thick pair of gloves. If you own a chainsaw, weedeater with blades, or scythe please bring it along.

If you could let me know when you plan to help, it would be great to know who to expect. Thanks for considering putting in a little time for our dogs.

First Work Day Planned

Our first work day for the dog park will be held on Saturday, March 14th, at 9:00 A.M. Please bring work gloves if you plan to help out. Feel free to come and check out the property if you are not able to pitch in at this time to get a glimpse of our vision for the first dog park in Marion County.