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Dog Owners Group for Park Access in Washington
May 2022
In this issue:
Fund Raising
New Sponsor
Park News
Summer Tips for your Pup's Health
IKE/ROSS Dog Park
Ike Fencing Project
Keys at Ike
DAKOTA at Pacific Park
Children at the Dog Park
Aggressive Dogs
LUCKY Brush Prairie
Volunteers!
Treats at the Park?
Park Projects
2022 PBD Calendar
Contacts and Links
Hi, everyone!
With the warmer weather, we hope you're enjoying the dog parks as much as we and our dogs are....
Beans O'Hara knows how to have fun! This pup is enjoying the Kane dog park at Hockinson Meadows:
Did you know that the average dog owner gets more exercise than gym-goers?
“[A] study [in the UK] of 5,000 people, including 3,000 dog owners, revealed that 57 percent of those see walking the dog as their main form of exercise. More than three quarters said they would rather take their dog for a walk than go to the gym.
The survey showed that having a dog to walk actually encourages regular exercise with 60 percent of pet owners saying they always go for a walk with their dog – even when time is precious.
"With increasing focus on leading an active healthy lifestyle it seems that owning a dog makes us more healthy," the [pet health care experts] Bob Martin spokesperson said.
Fund Raising
Thank you for attending our first ever Silent Auction & Raffle fundraiser! We loved meeting all of our members who attended and we raised over $1,000!
We raised $382.13 from our Rally Pizza fundraiser on March 3. Thanks to all who participated!
Your passive donations through Amazon Smile netted DOGPAW a $389.60 donation for the last quarter of 2021. So far, over the years AmazonSmile has donated a total of $3,530.44 to DOGPAW. And all you have to do is shop at smile.amazon.com.
You can also sign up at Kroger/Fred Meyer to earn money for DOGPAW when you use your loyalty card. Just go to My Account...Community Rewards at fredmeyer.com.
Thank you to Tiani Brandner who nominated DOGPAW to the Stewart Title Foundation which donated $500 to DOGPAW! Would your employer would be interested in donating to DOGPAW too?
New Sponsor
Are you thinking about buying or selling your home? Your move can give back to us!
Jan Fogg (https://homeswithjan.com/) is our vice president and our Community Partner through Coldwell Banker. When you buy or sell a home through Jan, she and Coldwell Banker Bain will donate 10% of the commission received to DOGPAW. This donation would help us to bring more events to the community and help expand our dog parks. Tell your family and friends!
Have you heard of UNFI? They’re a food distributor with a focus on natural, organic, and specialty food. Their warehouse in Ridgefield is currently looking to fill several positions. Do you know anyone who might be interested?
Park News
It's summer! Remember to keep your dogs cool to prevent heat strokes and asphalt burns. Our next park beautification will be on Saturday, July 9, beginning at 10AM at the Ike dog park, 5167 N.E. 15th Ave, Vancouver, so grab your work gloves and join us! See https://www.dogpawoffleashparks.org/events for more.
Summer Tips for your Pup's Health
PNW is beautiful and our summers are not as intense but we still have had plenty of hot days and even heat waves in the last couple of years. Here are some tips to keep your dogs safe and cool:
Never leave your dog in a closed vehicle.
Keep your dog inside or if they must be outside, make sure they have plenty of shady cool spots and lots of fresh water.
Take walks in the early morning or evening when the sun isn’t as intense.
Make sure their vaccinations are up to date. They’re more likely to come into contact with fleas and ticks when they spend more time outdoors.
Sunscreen your dog! Yes, dogs can get sunburns too, especially short-haired breeds.
Asphalt can be HOT. If it’s too hot for your bare feet or hands, it’s too hot for your dog.
IKE/ROSS Dog Park
Recently a car was stolen from the Ike/Ross dog park parking lot!!! And there have been several car break-ins at Ike, both at the upper and lower level parking lots.
The Bonneville Power Administration, which owns the land that the park sits on, advises car owners to "not leave anything visible in their cars when they leave them. Windows are usually only smashed if there is something visible that can be easily taken. Keeping items in the trunk or out of view will help this a lot."
The Vancouver Police Department also has an important message:
REMOVE VALUABLES FROM VEHICLES!
• For an experienced thief it only takes a few seconds to shatter a car window and steal your valuables. It’s even easier if the car is unlocked!
• Thieves often use the buddy system. One is the lookout and the other breaks into the car and steals.
Thieves watch for people to “hide” a purse, laptop, briefcase or electronic device under a seat or in the trunk. They wait until the person is away from the car and then smash and grab, pop the trunk if needed to get the good stuff, and they and your valuables are gone.
Protect your property, your identity and yourself. Don’t store valuables in your vehicle!
Keep your car doors locked
Roll up your windows completely
Remove valuables from the car or hide them out of view before arriving at the parking lot
DOGPAW will be putting up permanent signs in the parking lots to remind you and to let thieves know that we're watching. And please report ALL such incidents to 311 - or call 911 to report a break-in in progress.
Ike Fencing Project
The next phase of this project is to complete the upper level area of the park. This includes fencing along Ross Rd., down 18th street (with new entry gates), as well as south interior fence stopping where the entry/exit goes to lower level.
A contractor has been hired and will start in near future. During fence replacement, which is to be done during the week, work is expected to take 2 days. Upper level will be closed during that time.
Keys at Ike
Just a reminder that the gate to the Ike dog park upper level is locked to prevent most park goers from using this entrance, due to the impact of increased traffic, overflow parking, and loose dogs on the neighborhood. The upper level entrance is intended for people who can show a state issued handicap parking permit or to neighbors with proof of residency; who can request a key from DOGPAW. All others should use the lower level parking lot.
DAKOTA at Pacific Park
Our last Park Appreciation Day was April 9 at Dakota Dog Park at Pacific Community Park. We filled holes, picked up poop, and trimmed some blackberry bushes.
Jasmine helped!
Children at the Dog Park
We’ve seen an increase of toddlers at the dog parks, especially Dakota. I love kids and I love seeing families at our dog parks! But please remember:
“Be cautious when bringing young children to the dog park. The truth is, you’re at a dog park, not a playground. Bringing your kids can be a wonderful experience for them, just make sure to keep them close and teach them that not all dogs will welcome their attention. Small children should be taught how to properly greet and handle dogs and should refrain from running and yelling inside the park.” 12 Dog Park Rules
Aggressive Dogs
e’ve also had reports of aggressive dogs at the parks! Does this sound familiar? “Sandy's Golden Doodle was attacked…the German Shepherd grabbed the back of his neck and the owner didn't do anything. Someone else had to get the shepherd off of the dog!”
Volunteer Park Ambassador Rick S. advises: “People should know how to report incidents. Each incident must be formally reported to Animal Control. The second attack kicks off enforcement, and without reporting offenders there is nothing they can do. If a dog attacks a second time Animal Control can confiscate the dog, but with no previous reports, no action. If a dog is a threat to safety it can be put down. This threat is usually enough to chase the offender away, BUT THEY HAVE TO REPORT!” NO we don’t want dogs to be put down, YES we do want peace at the parks.
“Animal Protection and Control can help resolve animal control problems such as stray or vicious animals, animal-related emergencies and reports of animal cruelty. Office staff are available by email or phone Monday through Friday, 8 am to 5 pm. For urgent situations involving domestic animals, call 564.397.2488.” After hours, call 311. (As always, in an emergency, call 911.)
LUCKY Brush Prairie
At Lucky Offleash Dog Park in Brush Prairie, please remember that the road and property west of the dog park is all private property. Avoid the private road west of Lucky and do not drive past the park parking lot. The residents have asked us to put up some permanent signs on the road stating so and we're working on that.
Volunteers!
We know that many of you regularly and anonymously donate your time to the dog parks; keeping an eye on the parks, helping to maintain the grounds, responding to DOGPAW's requests for volunteers, sending us good suggestions, and letting us know when there's a need that we can address. You are the stewards of the parks and DOGPAW is blessed to have you. Please know that the City of Vancouver Parks and Clark County Parks are VERY grateful as well, since, with not enough employees and without your help, the city and county could not keep the DOGPAW parks open.
Thanks to Muscle Dude* at Lucky. We had lost the key to a lock that secured a trash can. MD* used his massive biceps to cut off the lock. Thanks, Muscle Dude! *didn't catch his name
Treats at the Park?
Reminder, don’t give your dog treats around other dogs in order to avoid possible food aggression or allergic reactions. If you want to give other dogs treats, please ask owners for permission first!
From Volunteer Park Ambassador Jess: “While giving your own dog a treat at the park is OK, for dogs that you don’t know it is suggested that you ask first before giving someone else’s dog a treat. You don’t know if that other dog suffers from a food allergy, is on a special diet, or simply the owner is not wanting their dog to become treat dependent. When in doubt just give the treat to your own dog.
“But I would also tell the other dog owner: Train your dog to not run off to whoever has treats…at the end of the day, it remains your own responsibility to control your own dog.”
Park Projects
We have many park projects on our to-do list, for every dog park on our list! But due to working with County and City departments, the exact timing of some of the projects is uncertain.
However,
We will be continuing our work partnership with Clark County and City of Vancouver as it relates to park improvement planning, path and grounds maintenance, and access to drinking water for dogs.
We are working with the Bonneville Power Administration to get approval to put up more fencing at the Ike dog park. An environmental review is underway now.
We will be refreshing and standardizing park kiosk bulletin boards with new messaging centers and artwork.
We plan on adding new park benches where needed and repairing or replacing benches that are unsafe.
We are working on replacing worn or broken bag dispensers and adding new dispensers where needed, and we'll add additional garbage cans where needed.
2022 PDB Calendar
DOGPAW is an all-volunteer, donor-supported, nonprofit that exists to provide off-leash dog park to people in Clark County. Without us, the County and the City could not manage the dog parks. We provide the poop bags, trash service, oversight, dog owner education, and maintenance that they don’t have the funds or manpower to do.
Our supporters donate $25 a year to help maintain our parks. We send out a newsletter every month or so to our supporters with news about our parks, special projects, volunteer opportunities, and ‘fun’-raisers for DOGPAW. All funds go to maintaining our parks. While the parks are on County or City land, and therefore open to the public, we don’t receive any money from the County or City. Our supporters keep the parks going! See our web page at https://www.dogpawoffleashparks.org/donate.
Mailing Address: DOGPAW 13504 NE 84th St Ste 103 PMB 303 Vancouver, WA 98682-3091
DOGPAW OFF-LEASH DOG PARK LOCATIONS: Dakota: 1515 N.E. 164th Ave. Vancouver, WA Ike (Ross): 5167 N.E. 15th Ave. Vancouver, WA Kane: 10910 N.E. 172nd Ave. Vancouver, WA Lucky: 10100 N.E. 149th St. Brush Prairie, WA
