KDOG Nearing Fundraising Goal for Kirkland's First Off-Leash Park

Lifted by a $19,000 grant from the Petco Foundation, the group barking for an off-leash dog park in Kirkland is well beyond halfway toward its goal of raising $55,000 to start work on a site approved by the city.

The non-profit Kirkland Dog Off-Leash Group -- KDOG -- has raised more than $40,000 in grants and donations, says president Jean Guth, and has also secured the help of several local businesses in materials and equipment.

“We’re doing really well,” says Guth, a resident of the Norkirk neighborhood. “The community has been really positive. We’ve got a lot of local businesses involved. We’re really hoping we can break ground soon and really blitz in October and November.”

Last November, the Kirkland City Council approved the use of a two-acre site in the Totem Lake area for the park on city-owned property (113th Ave. NE and NE 120th St.) next to its Heronfield Wetlands green space. The approval came after many months of effort by KDOG. But the council stipulated that the city would spend no money on the park. See an earlier Patch story about the effort here.

A big boost for the group came last week in the Petco donation, which will be used for the single most expensive part of the project: a layer of material to cover the site called hog fuel.

Hog fuel is a mix of unprocessed bark and wood fiber used to cover muddy areas in barns, paddocks and arenas and sometimes construction sites. It is absorbent and helps prevent erosion while providing a soft surface for animals.

“We did a lot of talking with other (off-leash park) organizations and they emphatically said ‘hog fuel keeps us going,’ ” says Guth. “It stays put and helps with the odor. We need an eight-inch minimum depth to smother the blackberries and get us through our first year.”

The amount needed is expensive though, costing more than what will be needed to fence the two-acre site.

The Petco Foundation is the charitable arm of the pet store company of the same name, which operates a location on Rose Hill in Kirkland.

But Guth says the group still needs help, in the form of donations, volunteers, materials and equipment, to reach its tentative goal to open the park this fall.

The group is still urging supporters to vote daily in an on-line “Bark for your Park” contest by the Petsafe Co. -- Kirkland is one of 15 finalist cities. Here is another Patch story about that. And here are links to site were you can vote:

• www.barkforyourpark.com
• www.Facebook.com/PetSafeBrand