Local citizens moving forward with plans for a new Dog Park for Grand Marais
Jul 08, 2021 11:35AM ● By Editor
From Boreal Community Media - July 8, 2021
Beginning November 1, 2021 dogs will no longer be allowed to use the current horse park in Grand Marais. However, a group of dog loving local citizens have organized a new local non-profit to create a new dog park.
Go Dog North Shore is actively working towards creating a new wooded and fenced one-acre dog park in the City of Grand Marais. They are working quickly as possible to raise the necessary funds so that dogs and their owners can retain access to an off-leash space to safely exercise and socialize their dogs. The site development is planned in two phases and will be located across 5th Avenue from the current horse arena at the intersection with Gunflint Trail.
"There's no public funding for the new park development so Go Dog is taking on an aggressive fundraising campaign to raise $65,000 to do the construction. To date, we've raised nearly $20,000 from individual contributions," Quinn continued, "We're pursuing grants as well but the bulk of the support for this project will likely come from members of the local community and visiting public."
Beginning November 1, 2021 dogs will no longer be allowed to use the current horse park in Grand Marais. However, a group of dog loving local citizens have organized a new local non-profit to create a new dog park.
"It may seem odd to some people that we need a dog park in a place like Cook County where there are vast tracts of publicly owned land that people can take their dogs to, but there are several reasons why it's important to have an off-leash space in our community, said Cathy Quinn, one of the board members of Go Dog North Shore, a new 501(c)(3) non-profit based in Cook County.
"Cook County is a wild place and that's one of the things many of us love about living and visiting here. That being said, I can tell you firsthand that dog owners need to be aware that we live in wolf country and there are risks with having a dog off-leash that come with that," Quinn. "Even the best trained dog will ignore your commands in the presence of wildlife. And then there are the dogs that maybe don't have the best recall. These dogs simply don't come when you call them no matter how much training you do so the risk of them wandering, getting lost or having a traffic or predator related incident is higher. Third, dogs are social creatures and an off-leash dog park can enable dogs to socialize with other dogs in a safe place. So in a nutshell, dog parks provide a place for dogs to exercise, train and socialize safely from predators, traffic and traps."
"Cook County is a wild place and that's one of the things many of us love about living and visiting here. That being said, I can tell you firsthand that dog owners need to be aware that we live in wolf country and there are risks with having a dog off-leash that come with that," Quinn. "Even the best trained dog will ignore your commands in the presence of wildlife. And then there are the dogs that maybe don't have the best recall. These dogs simply don't come when you call them no matter how much training you do so the risk of them wandering, getting lost or having a traffic or predator related incident is higher. Third, dogs are social creatures and an off-leash dog park can enable dogs to socialize with other dogs in a safe place. So in a nutshell, dog parks provide a place for dogs to exercise, train and socialize safely from predators, traffic and traps."
Go Dog North Shore is actively working towards creating a new wooded and fenced one-acre dog park in the City of Grand Marais. They are working quickly as possible to raise the necessary funds so that dogs and their owners can retain access to an off-leash space to safely exercise and socialize their dogs. The site development is planned in two phases and will be located across 5th Avenue from the current horse arena at the intersection with Gunflint Trail.
"There's no public funding for the new park development so Go Dog is taking on an aggressive fundraising campaign to raise $65,000 to do the construction. To date, we've raised nearly $20,000 from individual contributions," Quinn continued, "We're pursuing grants as well but the bulk of the support for this project will likely come from members of the local community and visiting public."
Community members interested in making donations to help build the new dog park can do so by visiting the Go Dog North Shore website by following this link. https://godognorthshore.squarespace.com/donate
The Go Dog North Shore board of directors are: Randee Olson, John Mattice, Barb Heideman, Marylou Sorenson and Cathy Quinn. Full details of the Go Dog North Shore plan are available on their website at https://godognorthshore.squarespace.com/dog-park
