What does this agreement mean for the Go Dog North Shore dog park, the city, and the community?  Boreal Community Media spoke with Cathy Quinn of Go Dog North Shore to find out.

“The agreement was the key piece in being able to move forward with opening, because it defines the city's expectations of GDNS as the operator of the new dog park,” said Quinn. Additionally, the agreement also clarifies the roles and responsibilities of the City of Grand Marais and GDNS.

“The City of Grand Marais owns the land, and GDNS will be donating all of the infrastructure (fencing, parking lot, etc.) to the city.  It's the responsibility of GDNS to maintain that infrastructure to the city's standards”, Quinn added.

While the process of adding a dog park in Grand Marais city limits may be new within the last year or two, the organization behind the idea, Go Dog North Shore, is not. In fact, the creation of GDNS begins in a sad way.

Quinn says she started the organization in 2012 after her beloved dog Katagon was killed by wolves at her home outside of Grand Marais. “It was a traumatic way to learn a very hard lesson which is, we live in wolf country and we need to be extremely mindful of that as pet owners”, she said. 

A few months after the death of Katagon, Quinn got a new dog, Lucky LaRoux. Soon after getting Lucky, she found herself looking for a safe space for dogs and their owners to enjoy. “Lucky is terrible with recall (he doesn't come when you call him), and I found myself wishing that we had a space where we could safely train, exercise, and socialize our dogs off-leash, free from predators or traffic” Quinn shared. 

She started reaching out to other dog owners in the community to find others who would be interested in a similar project - which she did. The Go Dog North Shore non-profit was born, and they’ve been an organization ever since. 

Quinn shared that “GDNS has a mission of promoting healthy, active human and dog relationships and we fulfill that mission by also hosting skijoring races, a walking club, and trainings when possible”. 

It wasn’t until 2018 that GDNS started pursuing a permanent dog park location with the City of Grand Marais. 

“For several years we used the horse park as a temporary dog park, but as time went on it was obvious we needed a space that was designed with dogs and their owners in mind. That's when we started working on the new park development in earnest,” Quinn said. And while there are places within city limits where people do let their dogs off-leash, Quinn noted that the city does have a leash ordinance in place which makes such activity illegal.

“The new Grand Marais Dog Park will be the first designated off-leash space for dogs between Duluth and Thunder Bay”, Quinn shared, while adding that “there are groups in Two Harbors and Silver Bay that are also trying to develop an off-leash space for their dogs.”

Fast forward to today, and the dog park has received the green light from the Grand Marais City Council. And according to Quinn, if the necessary funding can be met and matched with contractor timelines, the dog park could be open by August of 2022. 

Luckily, the development of the dog park site doesn’t require many transitions. Quinn said that a parking lot for 6-8 cars and fencing (6ft high) around the three-acre lot is really all that’s needed. If you’re familiar with or drive by the lot, you’ll see that it’s wooded. Quinn said that the woods will stay, in order to be more stimulating for people and their pets. 

The process to get the agreement in place with the City of Grand Marais took a little over a year and required raising the funds, reaching out to other municipalities for insight, vetting the agreement with the city attorney, getting feedback from the GDNS board, and then the city council vote. 

And although GDNS has an agreement with the city, the organization has received no funding from the city or county. “This project is 100% independently funded. We are so grateful for the support we have received!  We've had over 250 contributors and received a $10,000 grant from the Lloyd K. Johnson Foundation for a total of $80,000,” said Quinn. 

The organization plans to keep the park free and open to the public (with or without a dog), but they hope that people will continue to donate year after year, either monetarily or volunteering. Quinn mentioned that “GDNS is responsible for operating the space which includes making any repairs and improvements to it as well as carrying our own insurance.”

The response to the dog park has been overwhelmingly positive according to Quinn. She mentioned that some people have questioned why a dog park is needed when we’re lucky enough to live in an area with so much wooded, public land. But her response remains consistent: “we live in a wild place and I think that's why many of us like living here. That being said, you have to be very careful with your pets here, even right within the City limits of Grand Marais.  In addition, dogs are social animals and parks like ours offer excellent opportunities for them to get together and do "dog stuff”, and to get people outside interacting with their pets."

Go Dog North Shore needs to raise an additional $10,000 before the park can open this summer. “It's critical that we raise the last $10,000 of our goal in order to get the park up and running for this summer.  Every amount helps!” Quinn said. 

If you’re interested in donating, you can find more information on the Go Dog North Shore website or email: [email protected].

The new dog park will be located at 781 5th Avenue West, Grand Marais, MN. Or, in “local” terms, “a block or so up the hill from the hospital.” Quinn added that you could also “do a simple Google search for Grand Marais Dog Park and you'll get a map to refer to”.