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!