With any luck and a little help, some day by September furry canines large and small will be running free over a couple acres of forested park land near Totem Lake – Kirkland’s first off-leash dog park.

The Kirkland City Council in November unanimously approved creation of a dog park on city-owned open space near the intersection of 113th Ave. NE and NE 120th St., adjacent to and just south of Heronfield Wetlands. The city bought 7.5 acres of the property as open space in 2005, and two acres of it will be used for the park.

But the council stipulated that no city money would be used. So now it is up to the nonprofit organization that has jumped hurdle after hurdle over several years in its push for an off-leash park, the Kirkland Dog Off-Leash Group, or KDOG. And it's barking for some help.

“We hope it will be a model park,” said Jean Guth, Norkirk resident and president of the group. “If we can get dedicated volunteers, we could get this open by September.”

The group has begun clearing the area of blackberry bushes and brush, and it is developing a plan to build the park before seeking grants and launching several fund-raisers. The park must be fenced, of course, and as the group envisions it, it will be largely open but broken up by existing trees.

“One of the things trees do is provide shade when it's hot in the summer,” said Guth. “They also help break up and separate the dogs, and hold down the land.”

KDOG is modeling its park on one in Renton built by a group called RUFF – the Renton Unleashed Furry Fund. It opened its 3.5-acre Cedar River Dog Park last year after launching a campaign in 2009 and, Guth said, raising close to $50,000.

“We’re excited, but we recognize it’s a challenging fund-raising environment,” she said. “People in Kirkland love their dogs, and if Renton can do it, we can do it.”

But KDOG has a long path ahead to pad. It needs funds, materials and volunteer labor. It also must work out an agreement with an adjacent office complex for access to the site during work parties and, when the park opens, for maintenance. And it must pay for a wetlands delineation survey.

“We need help from other dog owners,” Guth said. “We can’t do it ourselves.”

The first fundraiser of the year is a “Yappy Hour” Jan. 21, 6:30 p.m., at Dooley’s Dog House, a pet store at 1421 Market St. You can find details about it on KDOG’s Meet Up website, www.meetup.com/offleash-42/.

KDOG also has a separate site full of information at http://kdog.org.

The City of Kirkland, while not offering money, is lending support.

“It certainly has been a goal of our park board for a number of years,” said Michael Cogle, park planning and development manager. “We just had to find the best location for it. We certainly have a lot of people in the city who are interested in a legal place to let their dogs off-leash. We think it will be well-used.

"But there will be some people who will say it’s not their thing. It will be nice to be able to tell people where they can go with their dogs.”

Guth, who lost her 16-year-old Jack Russell terrier Jasper last March and is currently without a canine best friend, says the site is not ideal. It lacks a dedicated parking lot, so parking will be on the street. Access will be from the street and along a public right-of-way trail. The park is sure to get popular. Things could get busy.

Some KDOG members have suggested naming the park after Jasper, in honor of Guth’s tireless work. She says maybe that’s barking up the wrong tree.

“If somebody came along and donated a bunch of money, I’d be happy to name it after them,” she says with a chuckle.