SEQUIM DOG PARK: HISTORY

HOW SEQUIM DOG PARK GOT STARTED

Originally written by Ruth Marcus, Revised by Marcy Engelstein

It all began on April 4, 2006, just before dawn. Four dog owners were known to run and walk their dogs at the Water Reuse Park area of Carrie Blake Park in the wee hours of the morning. This is long before there were Haller soccer fields and pathways. The dog walkers didn’t know someone was watching them. They also didn’t know there was a leash law, and they didn’t know the person watching them was repeatedly phoning the police asking the police to do something about the dog owners who were breaking the law. 

On that morning, one of these four dog owners decided to take a different route. Instead of going to the park, she walked her golden retriever around the neighborhood of E. Fir and E. Spruce Streets. One of her dog-walking cohorts was returning from the park and told her it was an exciting morning, “two police squad cars showed up this morning looking for your golden retriever.” 

Now, the story goes that the owner of this golden retriever and her friend were annoyed that anyone would phone the police at 6:30 in the morning to report dogs happily romping in an open field. This same woman was a writer for the Sequim Gazette. She went home and dashed off a Letter to the Editor and emailed it to the Gazette, the PDN, and the Mayor of Sequim, Walt Schubert. The letter read:

Early this morning, in our cozy hometown of Sequim, there was a significant stake-out at Carrie Blake Park. Two squad cars, two cops, and a city employee stalked the offender. The cop on the south entrance radioed for back-up, and the 2nd squad car on the north end of the park raced to the other entrance to assist. And what were our tax dollars being spent on this beautiful, sunny morning? 

A friendly golden retriever was strolling along with its owners, minding its own business, enjoying the tranquil park at 7:00 am. The cops got their offender. Yep, no leash on a dog that strolls along by the side of its owner (totally controlled and friendly). This seems ludicrous when we could spend tax dollars for police to stake-out meth labs, drug dealers, and vandals. 

Carrie Blake Park is a perfect place for a dog run area. There are many, many dog owners in Sequim that use that park. Next it will be citizens complaining about bike riders who cause a disturbance because they are riding along on the designated bike path. 

We need to get our priorities worked out. There needs to be a place for dogs to run, citizens to walk, and bikers to bike. A park is the most obvious place in any community. Carrie Blake is spacious enough to accommodate our needs at this time.

A couple of complainers are creating problems for people who enjoy walking their dogs, visiting, and enjoying the park. Please, please don’t let a couple of people who rant and rave (and would do so about anything), ruin an otherwise wonderful area of our community. 

Signed, Ruth Marcus

At noon, Ruth Marcus received a phone call from the mayor suggesting that she take her anger and turn it into something positive. She said, “I will.” She emailed every dog owner she knew and asked them to email their dog pals. “We’re going to meet with the Park Advisory Board and request that the city build a dog park,” she told her friends. And so, they did.

There was standing room only with people spilling out the door at the initial meeting. Dog owners made their request for a dog park. 

Ruth Marcus, David Brown, Margaret Preston and Sandra Necco formed a committee to study safety issues, design, and planning of the dog park.  By April 22, 2006, they had gathered nearly 500 signatures, created a web site, wrote a proposal and stood before the City Council, requesting they approve and partner with dog owners of Sequim to create a beautiful dog park. It turned out that Councilman Don Hall had already advocated for a dog park in Sequim, so the idea was not new. It was already germinating.

Sequim Dog Park Pals was born. Volunteers stepped forward. Donations were collected to help fund the park. The city suggested that Sequim Dog Park Pals become a non-profit 501(c)3. Under the umbrella of Sequim Community Foundation, Articles of Incorporation were drawn up. In addition to the initial members of the committee, Diane Lopez, Dave Neidhardt and Dave Toman became part of the original Board of Directors. Sequim Dog Park Pals eventually left the umbrella of Sequim Community Foundation and became an independently registered nonprofit. Dedicated board members have come and gone over the years. Currently, Sequim Dog Park Board Officers are: original founding member, Dave Neidhardt, who remains as Treasurer, Cindy Arnold is Secretary, Barbara Miller is Board Member at Large and Marcy Engelstein is Chairwoman. They are assisted on various projects and fundraisers by an ever-evolving band of stalwart volunteers.

Getting back to the story in 2006 …citizens and community businesses stepped in and volunteered time, talent, money and hours to create the dog park. Terry Selby from KC Construction donated his time, crew and equipment to install fencing. Dana Hyde designed and donated the entrance gate. Generous support and enthusiasm for the dog park made it a model example of citizens partnering with the city in a successful effort of cooperation. 

Many hands have joined to help maintain the dog park. Special thanks to City of  Sequim Parks staff, with special mention to Gary Butler and his team. Sequim Dog Park Pals’ also perform routine maintenance. Sequim Dog Park is used by small and large dogs, pure-breads and mutts. In 2011, an agility course was installed for the training of police dogs and dog park dogs.  Sequim Dog Park has online ratings as one of the best off-leash parks in the United States! Tourists and participants in the annual Kennel Club Shows as well as visitors for the Irrigation Festival and Lavender Festival are happy to know they have a safe place to exercise their dogs. 

When Sequim Dog Park opened in April, 2007, it was envisioned as a place where dogs could run free with other dogs. Over the years, a community of “regulars” has formed who attend the park as much to socialize with other folks as to exercise their dogs. A sense of camaraderie and belonging evolved. Sequim Dog Park is a place where people look forward to seeing you and your dog. Of course, tourists are always welcome – we only ask that visitors please follow the rules that are posted.

Each year, there are more and more visitors to Sequim Dog Park. Now, more benches and shelters are needed. Sequim Dog Park Pals provided all the benches and shelters that are already in the park through donations and matching grants. It happened gradually, one bench at a time. We would like to double the number of benches and shelters. Would you consider donating to help us reach that goal? Any amount helps. There are folks who really need to sit down when they’re at the park and sometimes there just aren’t any unoccupied benches. Together, we can do it! Let’s make a positive change!