Sno-DOG [1] (Snohomish Dog Off-leash Group) plans a hog-fuel-spreadin' hootenanny -- OK, work party -- at the soggy Willis D. Tucker Community Park [2] in Snohomish on Saturday, January 26, from 10 am until the job is complete.
Snohomish County is on the cusp of becoming a great place for off-leash play [3]. The county parks and recreation department under the leadership of dog-park advocate Tom Teigen has four off-leash areas (OLAs) in its master plan. The current two-acre OLA at Willis D. Tucker Community Park is only temporary; an 11-acre canine playground is in the works and scheduled to open in a couple years. Other future Snohomish OLAs include 3.5 acres at Tambark Creek Park [4] in Bothell, 8 acres at Field's Riffle Park in Snohomish, and a swath of Mother Nature's Window Park in Marysville, which at more than 28 acres will be a destination for free-rompers. In addition, there are already off-leash areas in Edmonds, Everett, and Goldbar, plus one more on the drawing board for Monroe.
If Willis Tucker is on your list of go-to parks or you want to support a fledgling OLA-steward group, join the party. Good volunteer turnout for hands-on improvements sends a strong message about community support for off-leash areas. RSVPs are appreciated (volunteers@sno-dog.org [5]). Bring wheelbarrows and shovels, if you've got 'em.
From dogsledding in Fairbanks to tracking down lost pups with a pet detective in Fresno, Pet Dish blogger Lisa Wogan explores the world of dogs and their people for Bark magazine, and in books such as Unleashed: Climbing Canines, Hiking Hounds, Fishing Fidos, and Other Daring Dogs . She lives in Seattle with two dogs, Lulu and Renzo.
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