Hi friends,
Lots of news to report plus our annual summer socials. Check it out!
Highlights
1) Dog Jog Event Photos. Yowser!
2) Summer Socials at Vineyard and Sherwood Dog Parks
3) VDP Bark Angel of the Month - Congratulations!
4) New concrete paths and pad at Vineyard Dog Park
5) Dog Park Etiquette for barking dogs
6) Thank you to park advertisers
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1) Dog Jog Event Photos - Yowser!
We had a wonderful turnout for our 8th Annual Dog Jog event on April 16 at Vina Robles Vineyard, a new venue for us
. The long views from the route through the vineyards were spectacular. We added many new activities to this event including a live band, the Rag Bone Saints. It was great fun to cross the finish line and here the rag style Dixieland-ish music wafting through the expo area. Many attendees just LOVED the wine tasting at the end of the run and being able to chill out with their dogs in the beautiful Vina Robles courtyard. It was great to see so many familiar faces and many new ones.
Lots of people to thank for making this event happen. We welcomed back Genete Bowen and her singing doxie Liesl to sing "America the Beautiful" to kick off the run. Our event sponsors included Lemos Feed and Pet Supply who contributed the stunning pink dog bandanas, Las Tablas Animal Hospital, Howell 'n Good Doggie Dental, Rabobank, the REC Foundation, and County Supervisor Frank Mecham.
Many thanks to our awesome photographers Roger Bowsky, Gail Gresham, and Steve O'Farrell. You can view and purchase the event photos through our website. Also heartfelt thank you's to the board members, volunteers along the trail, and the vendors in the parking lot with great products and information.
2) Summer Socials at Vineyard and Sherwood Dog Parks
We love our summer weather and summer socials at Vineyard and Sherwood Dog Parks. These are great meet-ups to socialize people and dogs. Also good opportunities to meet the board members that oversee the dog parks as our most dedicated volunteers. New dog owners can also get an orientation to the dog park and learn about "park etiquette" and ways to introduce your dog to a dog park community. We also offer volunteer training for our "bark angels" at our coffee socials. If you have a teenager at home for the summer, this could be a good way for them to do community service and get those service hour credits. Socials are 9:30 am - 11 am unless otherwise noted.
Vineyard Dog Park - June 11, July 9, and August 13
Sherwood Dog Park - June 25, July 23, and August 26 (5:30pm - 7pm)
3) VDP Bark Angel of the Month - Congratulations!
Vineyard Dog Park is pleased to announce our Bark Angel of the Month recipients - Jade Sigmund for February, Richard Placak for March, and Cheryl Wieczorek for April. These "angels" received a $20 Trader Joes gift card as a token of our appreciation. At the end of each month, we randomly pick a volunteer (excluding board members) who attended the park on their assigned day. It's the least we can do to acknowledge our volunteers who are critical to keeping our parks clean and beautiful. Dog people rule! If you are interested in becoming a Bark Angel at either Vineyard or Sherwood Dog Park, please contact me at
info@parks4pups.org or call me directly at 805.239.4437.
4) New Concrete paths and pad at Vineyard Dog Park
We are so pleased at the addition of new concrete paths at Vineyard Dog Park. We were plagued with ongoing erosion problems at both the front gate and under the shade structure. Our goal was also to improve the general accessibility of our park. Our park visitors have been effusive in their praise of this park improvement. Most of you know that our park expenses and improvements are paid for by your donations. We highly recommend the local contractor,
A-1 Concrete, who did the work most efficiently and with great design. They also donated quite a bit to the project knowing that we had limited funds.
5) Dog Park Etiquette for barking dogs
This request came in recently from a frequent dog park visitor regarding excessive dog barking in the park. Yes, we know that dogs like to bark during play time and that it is, after all, a "dog park." But excessive barking can be intimidating to other dogs and possibly provoke aggression. It can certainly be annoying to other visitors. So this is just a heads up that if you have a "barker" to be considerate of other dogs and their owners - especially if the other dogs are obviously frightened and their owners are obviously irritated.
6) Thank you to our advertisers
We are so blessed to have many individuals and businesses that are so generous in supporting our dog parks and events through donations and in-kind gifts and services. The following businesses
currently advertise at Sherwood and Vineyard Dog Parks. We are proud to display their business cards and flyers information at the kiosk entrances to our dog parks as well as on our website at
www.parks4pups.org .
I hope that when the opportunity arises, you will thank these people on our behalf. Of course, contact me if you are interested in advertising your business or service.
Avery Acupuncture
Canine Academy
Connect Hearing of Paso Robles
David Strybel, realtor
Dawg On It & Katz Too
Hewitt's Hardware of Templeton
Jan McKibben, realtor
Kathy Kropp and Good Dog Companion Dog Training
Kaye Kamphefner, Pet and House Sitting Services
Las Tablas Animal Hospital
Lemos Feed and Pet Supply
Pinky Peterson, Pet Sitting Services
Templeton Hills Pharmacy
Varian Kennels
Vineyard Kennels of Paso Robles
Woods Humane Society
See you at the park!
Paula O'Farrell
Parks4Pups
805.239.4437
