Pam McDonald and her basset hound, Freckles, frequently visit the Dakota Memorial Dog Park inside the Pacific Community Park. A Vancouver nonprofit said the park is popular to the point that it is overcrowded and is planning to open a new dog park around the corner, just west of the Humane Society for Southwest Washington. (Natalie Behring/The Columbian)Photo Gallery
At home, Freckles is a couch potato.
But when the 8-year-old basset hound comes to the dog park, her owner, Pam McDonald, said that she becomes a dog again. She goes wherever her nose takes her, she socializes with other dogs and she runs in the field, a sight that McDonald says makes her look “like fuzzy Jello.”
“She needs her exercise and fresh air,” McDonald said. “She needs to be a basset hound.”
McDonald and Freckles are frequent visitors of Dakota Memorial Dog Park at Pacific Community Park.
But they’re far from the only ones. The park is one of the busiest off-leash dog parks in the county, drawing crowds of up to 100 dogs and owners at peak hours, said Mark Watson, maintenance and development director of DOGPAW (Dog Owners Group for Park Access in Washington).
And with the impending closure of Stevenson Off-Leash Dog Park in Washougal, Watson said the overcrowding will only escalate.
To address the problem, the Vancouver nonprofit organization has partnered with Clark County to open a new dog park just around the corner from the Dakota Memorial Dog Park, near Northeast 192nd Avenue and Northeast Ninth Street.
Clark County councilors unanimously agreed late last month to let DOGPAW develop the county-owned 10.8-acre parcel. The English Pit Dog Park will be located west of the Humane Society for Southwest Washington and south of the Harmony Sports Complex.
“We’re grateful to find this,” Watson said. “This is a much-needed relief in this area.”
DOGPAW will pay to clear part of the wooded area, add a parking lot and paths as well as fence the property. The group also will be responsible for ongoing maintenance.
“Our relationship with DOGPAW has been fantastic over the years,” Clark County Parks Manager Bill Bjerke said. “When they come to us with a need we’re always willing to help them out. … (This parcel) has just been sitting there for many years as a natural area.”
Bjerke agreed with Watson that with the overcrowding of the Dakota Memorial Dog Park and the consistent growth in the Fisher-Mill Plain neighborhood area, transforming the plot into a dog park was a good idea.
Stacey Graham, president of the Humane Society for Southwest Washington, said that the shelter has its own fenced area, so rescued dogs will not use the dog park.
But the Humane Society isn’t the nearby business that pet owners are worried about — the shooting ranges are. English Pit Shooting Range is across the street from the parcel, and a firing range used by local law enforcement is just down the road.
Okmi Slayden, 45, said that her 7-month-old chocolate Labrador retriever, Steve, may not like the loud booms of gunfire sounding so close to where he is playing.
“He’s kind of skittish,” she said. Slayden said that she’d still go try out the dog park when it opened, but added that she will be extra vigilant for potential problems when she does.
Included in the county’s long-range plan is to move both shooting ranges to Camp Bonneville, though there is no definite timeline yet. For the time being, the sound of gunshots might not be for every dog, Watson said. But at the end of the day, he said, the park will be another place for dogs to roam freely.
“We’re lucky. Land is getting harder to find,” he said.
The plan for English Pit Dog Park includes an open field as well as paths through the wooded areas.
“This is going to be a little more of a natural setting,” Watson said.
Watson said that he has the construction companies lined up, but that he needs donations for the $75,000 required for the project. The hope, he said, is to begin construction in July.
“With a little luck and donations, we’ll have it completed by the time Stevenson closes on Nov. 1,” Watson said. “If I have the money, I can get it done.”
Those interested in donating to DOGPAW or volunteering to help with the new dog park can get more information at clarkdogpaw.org.
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