On Friday June 27 I met once again with Drew & Doug re: the park signs. I turned over the Dog Party money, which did hit the $400.00 mark as we hoped. Drew confirmed that this will purchase 2 signs, which are currently being prepared in the City's sign shop.
The signs will be un-missable with measurements of 18" high and 48" long. They'll be painted white and then have a bone-shaped decal added, along with wording and the "Fields for Fido" logo. The guys might also be able to add some kind of bulletin board material to the back of the signs, so that they can be used for announcements, lost dog ads, etc.
Due to vacations for the regular City crews, Drew estimates that it will be 4-6 weeks before the signs are completed and installed. In the meantime existing signs have been relocated to more visible locations, and new directional signage has been added. These actions seem to have cut down on the number of complaints about dogs running loose in undesignated areas.
The importance of our signage project was emphasized to me when I heard an excellent CBC Radio interview on Friday about the High Park dog poisonings. The main message I took away from the piece was that for dog parks, an understanding of boundaries is essential, especially if there are no physical boundaries like fences. The interview isn't available yet as a podcast, but in the meantime you can hear it at:
http://www.cbc.ca/soundslikecanada/index.html
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Monday, June 23, 2008
3 Weddings and a Dog Party
King's Park was the place to be on Saturday, with the First Annual King's Park Dog Party sharing the grounds with 3 wedding parties and their photographers. All routes into the off-leash area seemed to take us past nervous brides and their entourages, but not so much as a noseprint marked the nuptial finery.
The weather looked like it might force us to cancel the whole thing, with both wind and hail warnings reported for the afternoon. But the gods smiled and the storm clouds detoured neatly around us while leaving us with cooling breezes and a little cloud cover, which made for ideal fetching conditions.
I've heard some estimates that as many as 40 people attended the party throughout the afternoon and early evening. That's a fantastic turnout for our modestly advertised event. It was a wonderful mingling of old friends and new visitors, many of whom said they would return again. All the dogs got along, and played happily, although Chica and Coco decided that it would be more fun to stay in the screen house with me as I doled out raffle tickets.
Speaking of the raffle, as a fundraiser for the new park signs the event was also a success. We raised $350.00 on Saturday and with pledges of more dollars coming in, we will definitely make our goal of $400.00!! I talked to Park Technician Drew Williams today to let him know the good news and I think he was quite surprised. ;) It certainly helped that Drew was able to confirm that donors would get tax receipts from the City of Winnipeg for the park improvement, and I think this is information that we can use effectively for further fundraising efforts.
Last but not least, the potluck was fabulous, with many tasty dishes and some leftovers too....although nobody (human or canine) went home hungry!
All of this would not have been possible without the King's Park Dog Association's help and generous donations. Credit goes to:
Astrid and Sammy for the large bag of tennis balls,
Hedy, Shady & Tasha for donating bags of dog food for the raffle
Holly and Emily for the yummy potato salad
Iva, Peter and Grizzly for the delicious fruit platters
Jeannie, Jonathan, Paul (in absentia) and Meggie for the appetizing casserole that I didn't get around to tasting ;)
Jodie and Malik for the scrumptious pasta salad
Mary Jane, Luna and Bart for the equally scrumptious meatballs
Mitch, Gloria and Carmen, for donating toys and goodies, making excellent cabbage rolls, and bringing out the tables, plates, cups, and all-important garbage bags
Mora, for donating the small doggie bed in memory of Aspen.
My apologies if I've forgotten anyone who contributed to the potluck or raffle; special thanks to Holly and Jodie who figured out the screen house, and who assembled and disassembled it quickly and efficiently. Thanks to everyone who helped to schlep the loads of food, chairs, tables etc. from the parking lot and back again. Also of course very many hearty thanks to all those who so generously gave money to the signage project. I'm hearing that everyone had such a good time that a fall supper might be in the works....I'll post info on that when I hear more.
I think it would be hard to decide who had a better Saturday - the 3 wedding parties....or the pack of happy dogs and their people!
The weather looked like it might force us to cancel the whole thing, with both wind and hail warnings reported for the afternoon. But the gods smiled and the storm clouds detoured neatly around us while leaving us with cooling breezes and a little cloud cover, which made for ideal fetching conditions.
I've heard some estimates that as many as 40 people attended the party throughout the afternoon and early evening. That's a fantastic turnout for our modestly advertised event. It was a wonderful mingling of old friends and new visitors, many of whom said they would return again. All the dogs got along, and played happily, although Chica and Coco decided that it would be more fun to stay in the screen house with me as I doled out raffle tickets.
Speaking of the raffle, as a fundraiser for the new park signs the event was also a success. We raised $350.00 on Saturday and with pledges of more dollars coming in, we will definitely make our goal of $400.00!! I talked to Park Technician Drew Williams today to let him know the good news and I think he was quite surprised. ;) It certainly helped that Drew was able to confirm that donors would get tax receipts from the City of Winnipeg for the park improvement, and I think this is information that we can use effectively for further fundraising efforts.
Last but not least, the potluck was fabulous, with many tasty dishes and some leftovers too....although nobody (human or canine) went home hungry!
All of this would not have been possible without the King's Park Dog Association's help and generous donations. Credit goes to:
Astrid and Sammy for the large bag of tennis balls,
Hedy, Shady & Tasha for donating bags of dog food for the raffle
Holly and Emily for the yummy potato salad
Iva, Peter and Grizzly for the delicious fruit platters
Jeannie, Jonathan, Paul (in absentia) and Meggie for the appetizing casserole that I didn't get around to tasting ;)
Jodie and Malik for the scrumptious pasta salad
Mary Jane, Luna and Bart for the equally scrumptious meatballs
Mitch, Gloria and Carmen, for donating toys and goodies, making excellent cabbage rolls, and bringing out the tables, plates, cups, and all-important garbage bags
Mora, for donating the small doggie bed in memory of Aspen.
My apologies if I've forgotten anyone who contributed to the potluck or raffle; special thanks to Holly and Jodie who figured out the screen house, and who assembled and disassembled it quickly and efficiently. Thanks to everyone who helped to schlep the loads of food, chairs, tables etc. from the parking lot and back again. Also of course very many hearty thanks to all those who so generously gave money to the signage project. I'm hearing that everyone had such a good time that a fall supper might be in the works....I'll post info on that when I hear more.
I think it would be hard to decide who had a better Saturday - the 3 wedding parties....or the pack of happy dogs and their people!
Monday, June 16, 2008
Party time!
We're counting down to the first annual King's Park Dog Party, which will be held on Saturday June 21 from 4-7pm, rain or shine. The party will celebrate the offleash area, the first day of summer, Carmen's birthday (the big white bundle of rambunctiousness some of you may have encountered) or anything else you like!
People are encouraged to bring items for a potluck, and cold soft drinks will be provided. We may even manage to fire up a BBQ. There will also be a raffle for 2 gift packages: one for big dogs and one for medium/smaller dogs. The packages include new doggie beds, assorted toys and treats, and some goodies for humans too.
Proceeds will go towards funding for the Offleash Park Signage project. Park management has agreed to split the cost of custom signs designating the offleash area. The cost to the King's Park Dog Association (membership is open to all) for each sign, installed, is $200.00. We're hoping to raise enough to pay for 2 signs this year.
Hope to see lots of people & pooches on Saturday!
People are encouraged to bring items for a potluck, and cold soft drinks will be provided. We may even manage to fire up a BBQ. There will also be a raffle for 2 gift packages: one for big dogs and one for medium/smaller dogs. The packages include new doggie beds, assorted toys and treats, and some goodies for humans too.
Proceeds will go towards funding for the Offleash Park Signage project. Park management has agreed to split the cost of custom signs designating the offleash area. The cost to the King's Park Dog Association (membership is open to all) for each sign, installed, is $200.00. We're hoping to raise enough to pay for 2 signs this year.
Hope to see lots of people & pooches on Saturday!
Monday, June 9, 2008
Allergy alert!
This morning I'm bleary-eyed after a night of poor Chica thrashing around in great discomfort. She was behaving as though she had been skunked: rubbing her face on the carpet, running back & forth, licking her paws, whining, panting, etc. She exhibited a rash on her tummy and in between her toes, which I slathered with Polysporin, but it didn't help.
She stuck it out until 5:30am when she was desperate to get out and go to the park - she ran to the car and stared desperately at the door. We loaded up (poor Coco being very bewildered) and off to a very rainy park we went. I was happy to see that Chica still wanted to play and all her bio-systems were functioning normally. She was happy to rub her face in the wet grass, and she seemed to get some relief.
However, back at home she was in torment again, so before heading off to the vet I checked her symptoms online. Sure enough - classic allergic reaction symptoms. Benadryl is the recommended treatment, and fortunately I had some in the house. I gave her one tablet and within 20 minutes the symptoms had stopped and aside from being a little dopey, she's as good as new.
Chica's symptoms started right after we returned from the park, and it could be any number of things: poison ivy, bug bites, the pond water. Coco, who goes everywhere Chica does (and more) hasn't had any symptoms, so I'm inclined to think that it's a bug bite or bee sting. Poison ivy is abundant in the bush areas this year, so be aware when walking through the woods. Also, several people have reported finding ticks on their dogs after visiting the park.
All this reminded me that it's good to know some doggy First Aid, and even keep a canine First Aid kit on hand. Information on common dog injuries & health issues, plus how to make a first aid kit can be found at: http://www.thepetcenter.com/gen/faid.html or http://www.paw-rescue.org/PAW/PETTIPS/DogTip_FirstAid.php You may also want to carry an epi-pen, as recommended for allergic reactions by PetEducation.com: http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?cls=2&cat=1707&articleid=1494
She stuck it out until 5:30am when she was desperate to get out and go to the park - she ran to the car and stared desperately at the door. We loaded up (poor Coco being very bewildered) and off to a very rainy park we went. I was happy to see that Chica still wanted to play and all her bio-systems were functioning normally. She was happy to rub her face in the wet grass, and she seemed to get some relief.
However, back at home she was in torment again, so before heading off to the vet I checked her symptoms online. Sure enough - classic allergic reaction symptoms. Benadryl is the recommended treatment, and fortunately I had some in the house. I gave her one tablet and within 20 minutes the symptoms had stopped and aside from being a little dopey, she's as good as new.
Chica's symptoms started right after we returned from the park, and it could be any number of things: poison ivy, bug bites, the pond water. Coco, who goes everywhere Chica does (and more) hasn't had any symptoms, so I'm inclined to think that it's a bug bite or bee sting. Poison ivy is abundant in the bush areas this year, so be aware when walking through the woods. Also, several people have reported finding ticks on their dogs after visiting the park.
All this reminded me that it's good to know some doggy First Aid, and even keep a canine First Aid kit on hand. Information on common dog injuries & health issues, plus how to make a first aid kit can be found at: http://www.thepetcenter.com/gen/faid.html or http://www.paw-rescue.org/PAW/PETTIPS/DogTip_FirstAid.php You may also want to carry an epi-pen, as recommended for allergic reactions by PetEducation.com: http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?cls=2&cat=1707&articleid=1494
Friday, June 6, 2008
Setting Boundaries
Well, it's been a busy week with a bunch of new developments in the dog park.
Hedy and I met with the park technician and the park foreman this week. We all walked the pathways and went through the off-leash area itself, with a view to making sure that signage was doing what it' supposed to. It was also useful for the park crew to hear from the dog owner perspective, since they've been dealing with complaints from non-dog park users up 'til now.
As a result of this tour, some signs will be repositioned to be more obvious to people entering the off-leash area, and other signs will be added.
There's already a new sign on the labyrinth side, which now designates the City's decision on where the western boundary of the off-leash area should be. It's farther back into the field than I think most of us would like, but the park guys were adamant that the boundary has to be far enough away from the labryrinth to provide for a buffer zone between labyrinth users and dogs.
However, the good news is that the City has agreed to designate the southern swath of bush as off-leash also. The new map of the boundaries is available online at: http://www.winnipeg.ca/publicworks/Parks/FieldsForFido_files/Kingspark-dog-park.jpg
The KP Dog Association also had a great response from the City to the idea of posting more prominent signage in the off-leash area, which should make dog owners *and* visitors more comfortable. The large signs will either be in the shape of a bone or will feature a bone logo. The KPDA is funding 50% of the cost of making & installing the signs, and donations will be very gratefully accepted at the dog party on June 21. It's possible that these donations can qualify for a tax receipt....the City is checking into that.
Finally, I have to say it's been a pleasure working with Drew Williams and his team at the park. They've been very receptive to our ideas and have been more than happy to work with us to make the park experience better for everyone. They's also happy to work with us on larger long-term projects, like a covered bulletin board with a map of the park. I'm sure other improvements would also be seriously considered.
So here's the question of the day: What would be on your wish list for the King's Park off-leash area? There's already been a suggestion for fencing. I know a number of dog owners whose pooches are runners, and are currently unable to let them go free in the park, and a fenced in run would be ideal for them. Do you agree? Are there other projects that you think we could do in the future?
Hedy and I met with the park technician and the park foreman this week. We all walked the pathways and went through the off-leash area itself, with a view to making sure that signage was doing what it' supposed to. It was also useful for the park crew to hear from the dog owner perspective, since they've been dealing with complaints from non-dog park users up 'til now.
As a result of this tour, some signs will be repositioned to be more obvious to people entering the off-leash area, and other signs will be added.
There's already a new sign on the labyrinth side, which now designates the City's decision on where the western boundary of the off-leash area should be. It's farther back into the field than I think most of us would like, but the park guys were adamant that the boundary has to be far enough away from the labryrinth to provide for a buffer zone between labyrinth users and dogs.
However, the good news is that the City has agreed to designate the southern swath of bush as off-leash also. The new map of the boundaries is available online at: http://www.winnipeg.ca/publicworks/Parks/FieldsForFido_files/Kingspark-dog-park.jpg
The KP Dog Association also had a great response from the City to the idea of posting more prominent signage in the off-leash area, which should make dog owners *and* visitors more comfortable. The large signs will either be in the shape of a bone or will feature a bone logo. The KPDA is funding 50% of the cost of making & installing the signs, and donations will be very gratefully accepted at the dog party on June 21. It's possible that these donations can qualify for a tax receipt....the City is checking into that.
Finally, I have to say it's been a pleasure working with Drew Williams and his team at the park. They've been very receptive to our ideas and have been more than happy to work with us to make the park experience better for everyone. They's also happy to work with us on larger long-term projects, like a covered bulletin board with a map of the park. I'm sure other improvements would also be seriously considered.
So here's the question of the day: What would be on your wish list for the King's Park off-leash area? There's already been a suggestion for fencing. I know a number of dog owners whose pooches are runners, and are currently unable to let them go free in the park, and a fenced in run would be ideal for them. Do you agree? Are there other projects that you think we could do in the future?
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