Dream of Fields: A Dog Park Story

By: Ginny Theisen

“Look, we’re getting a dog park”, my husband said, as he waived the bright orange announcement.  It was enough to make me perk up my ears … and so did the dog.  This is no small piece of news for this West Bend community, with strict ‘no pets’ ordinances in its city parks.  While neighboring communities have relaxed their parks’ dog bans and even reserved off-leash space in their parks, West Bend has remained firm in its no dogs policy.

This has been a source of contention for the past decade, with dog-lovers waging repeated, unsuccessful, campaigns to open park lands for the dogs in our town.

Okay, enough of the rocky history.  I had to know more about this dog park!  My investigation lead me to a meeting with Jill Recore at a local coffee bar.  Jill is no stranger to dogs. Not only is she an instructor at GoOverRover Obedience and Agility Training Center but she also shares her home with several labs named for Beatle’s songs….Abbey Road, Hey Jude…you get the picture.

Jill’s involvement in the park project started innocently enough in 2008, when she attended a meeting at the local library. The meeting was hosted by members of the Common Council and the Park, Recreation and Forestry Department and the intent was to determine if there was interest enough to support the idea of a dog park in West Bend.  After the meeting, a private committee, K-9 Friends of West Bend was formed to carry on the dog park mission and Jill found herself the leader of the pack.

The task was formidable.  In order to qualify the park idea for a Common Council vote, the group had to first gain approval from the city’s Park and Recreation Department. .. that meant planning, a lot of planning…and a little bit of luck.

With the cooperation of the Park and Recreation Department, a search began for a proposed location.  Several spaces were considered, but each would have required costly development.  Then, The Rolfs Park emerged as a viable location.  This land had been sold to the city at a discounted price by the Rolfs family, who has figured prominently in West Bend’s history as founders of Amity Leather.  Rolfs Park includes 39 acres of prime meadow and wood land on the south end of town. 

The K-9 Friends group formed a vision of the park as an eco-friendly space with benches and state-of-the-art waste stations made of recycled plastic.  Of the 39 acres, 10 acres have been reserved as an off-leash dog park.  This space will be completely fenced, with separate entrance and exit doors to accommodate the varying energy levels of canine visitors.  A portion of the entrance will be paved, allowing access for disabled visitors, as well.  Jill envisions mowed trails ranging throughout the prairie and wooded areas of the park with benches for resting and waste stations for, well…you-know-what.  The remaining 29 acres of the park will consist of woodland trails for human use. 

Jill hopes it will become, “a place where dogs anticipate their owners coming home, putting them into their car and driving to their ‘new dog park’ that is their place to enjoy the smells, run, play ball, Frisbee and socialize with many new friends each time they come.  Along with their owners, meeting new dog friends and building our city into an incredibly inviting community for many to come, experience and enjoy.”  Aw…you just can’t argue with that kind of dog-love, can you?

It was exactly this passion that gained the Park and Recreation Department’s approval in February of 2009.  The bigger challenge was yet to come as K-9 Friends prepared to take their plea before the Common Council in March.  Given the history that the city park dog vote has had over the previous decade, it was understandable that K-9 Friends approached the night of the vote, uncertain as to the outcome.  They did not go alone, however.  Over two hundred West Bend dog-lovers were also in attendance, providing an overwhelming bulwark of support for the cause.  When the Council voted in favor of the dog park, a resounding cheer erupted from the many supporters.

But there was a bit of a catch.  While the Common Council agreed to relax the city’s ordinances enough to allow the off-leash park, they would not fund it.  Every penny necessary to build the park and provide ongoing maintenance would be the responsibility of K-9 Friends.  Undaunted, the group re-energized for the next challenge, that of collecting the necessary funding for the park.  The community of West Bend has backed this endeavor, turning up for fund-raising events and pledging donations.  Local businesses have chipped in and a fencing contractor has stepped up to discount the fencing.  Still, there’s a long way to go.

Today, K-9 Friends of West Bend is still hard at work on the financing aspect of the park and in planning for the future upkeep.  Because this is not a city-funded operation, the park will have a yearly user fee of $25 per household and is also expecting to rely heavily on volunteers.

The end result has been an example of cooperative effort between law makers and the energetic and driven K-9 Friends of West Bend.  I cannot imagine the amount of effort that has gone into this endeavor by a group of citizens who have nothing to gain for themselves and everything to gain for our canine residents.  It is a true mission of love. 

As I drive through town on highway 45, I can now see hints of the dog park to come.  A faint mown trail winds through the fields to the south…and yes, in my mind’s eye, I can see them…dogs jumping and running, people in groups and alone, all of them enjoying the space and the freedom.  Yes.

To keep up with the progress of this mission, visit the K-9 Friends website at www.westbenddogpark.com.  Stay tuned on how you can help with this effort and check frequently to see what fun community events are planned to support the park.  Fetch will also feature dog park events on our Events Calendar and will be Tweeting as events are planned in support of the park.

If you care to donate directly to the park project, donations can be made out to City of West Bend – Dog Park and sent to: Pam Kidney, K-9 Friends of WB/Treasurer, 713 Riverview Drive, West Bend, WI 53095.  A donation matching challenge has been issued by the Prescott Family Foundation, through the end of 2009.  This is a great opportunity to make a donation and see your donation matched, dollar for dollar.

Throughout the writing of this article, Jill has been insistent that, “without the members of the K-9 Friends group, each playing a specific role, the Park, Recreation & Forestry Dept, the Common Council, the citizens of West Bend and local business support, this park would not come to be.  We thank you all for each of your efforts.  This will be a diamond in the ruff for many canines.”

Ginny Theisen lives in West Bend and is co-owner of Fetch.   She juggles way too many hobbies, a day-job and …oh and loves spending time with dear hubby and the family dog.  Life is full of wonders!