Hello DOGPAW members,

We want to thank you for your current and ongoing support, without you we could not do what we do and the community would not have these amazing parks.  It has been a warm and dry month so be sure you are hydrating your dogs and yourselves while at the parks and elsewhere. We have some upcoming events and a need for volunteers volunteer@dogpawoffleashparks.org so please check out what’s new (and old) below.  

Message from The President

Hello all, first I would like to wish everyone a very happy and safe Thanksgiving. It’s been a tough year for many of us, yet I hope of each of us can find things to be thankful for

With that I would like to share couple of items –

• We had a very successful  BEACHES Restaurant Cashback Day raising ONE THOUSAND ONE HUNDRED SIXTY-FOUR DOLLARS ($1164.00)! THANK YOU DOGPAW Community, Neighbors, and Friends!!
• Thanks for all the great comments regarding the new Ike upper level fencing project. To our contractors, a big thank you again for the quality professional jobs you did. SO if you need any type of fencing, either new or replacing old, be sure to contact Pete Reidel at Mountain View Fencing (pete@mountainviewfencing.com/360-823-6043), OR, if you are in need of tree work, contact Dan Swanson at Tree Contractors NW (treecontractorsnw@gmail.com/360-608-7835). Both are local businesses here in Clark County.
• We are in process of attaching DOG POOP ONLY signs to the various waste receptacles that are located “inside” the park. Members and donors pay 100% of the costs of poop bags and waste removal services.  YOU pay for additional garbage pick-up and hauling when food waste and other non-poop items are added.  Which of course attracts RATS.  So if you will, please remind people not to throw garbage or food waste in the dog waste disposal bins, but in the containers outside of each park before entering.
• We have noticed the number of reported bad behavior incidents have gone down. Hopefully, it’s related to our active role in reporting and sharing information online, and that gets back to those causing the issues.  Please keep up your diligence to document (safely), send to our attention, and we will post it.

Take care of yourselves and your pets in the cold weather. Please.

Events this Month

Nothing coming up this month but stay tuned for events in the works

Park Operations Update

The weather has changed over the last month and we have reached freezing which means the water is shut off to the parks.  Please be sure to bring water with you when you come.

Always things going on and things to get done at all of our parks:

Dakota (Pacific) - We are still in talks with the county to get the small dog park moved, we are hoping for a spring or possibly summer for this to happen.  We have been getting reports of "bad behavior" at Dakota.  We are hoping the Park Ambassador program will help curb some of this.  Please continue to report on it if it happens.

Ike (Ross) - We have completed the refencing of the upper area!! Thanks to all our sponsors and donors. Now, we will be fundraising to the lower level, we are estimating $90,000.00 to complete this and are trying to do that in the coming year. Donations for this project specifically can be made here. For those that may not know, IKE is the only park managed by DOGPAW that is owned by the City of Vancouver in conjunction with BPA. All others are County owned, therefor we receive NO funding for Ike Park from the county as we do the other parks.

Kane (Hockinson) - While tucked away at Hockinson Community Park, Kane is the smallest of our parks, it is also has the most shade tree coverage of our parks, and continues to get many visitors and their dogs during these cold Fall days. Kane also is on the project list to get a water line.

Lucky (Minkler) - Always active and crowded, one of the main issues is the
walking paths, which has over the years has become uneven, narrowed, and eroded in many places. Underlying weed control cloth has also come to the surface that may be trip hazard as well.  Tree Contractors NW has generously donated a large amount of wood chips which we will use to address the issue of the walking path. We will need volunteers to help and will put out an ask as soon as we have a date to do so.

Sponsor Shoutout

Blaze Restoration, has graciously offered to supply all labor in the teardown and rebuild our old shed at Lucky on Thursday 10/13.

Thank you to Totally Mutts Do-It-Yourself Dog Wash for becoming a new sponsor. They offer everything from full service grooming and pet spa services to self-wash and even cat washing.