Dog park action!

So you may know that we all have been really involved in creating a dog park in our neighborhood. It's been a long journey (the whole process started five years ago), but we are finally getting water! The way it works here, the neighborhood is responsible for paying for everything at a dog park except the land. The city will designate land for a park, but as far as fencing, water, benches, etc., that all has to come from the neighborhood. We don't live in a rich neighborhood so it's taken us a long time to raise the money.

The civic league has been fundraising for years, and last year, we won a grant from the city to make improvements. There was some red tape/paperwork delay then the weather has been uncooperative. So yesterday, we finally got started! 

A nice man named Richard let us use his special trencher that digs, runs the water line and covers it back up all at the same time. That's important because the ground is still wet from all the rain. And that meant the little dog side could open back up immediately!

These awesome guys have done all the heavy work on the park. And get this, not one of them has a dog! They just agree that this project is really important for the neighborhood. Here they are rolling out the hundreds of yards of PEX, a flexible water line that doesn't freeze and break as easily as PVC. 

Here's a video mom took of the trenching. It may not look exciting to you, but we were all tickled pink! 

Our next step is installing the water spigot structures.

They don't look like much yet, but at the end of each of the pipes will be a Lixit fixture. It's like the end of a hamster bottle that when a dog licks it, the water comes out. 

That will eliminate the need for a bowl to hold the water which eliminates the spills and a breeding place for mosquitos. Very important here!

Below the water structure will be a 4x4 patio paver pad on each side. That will catch the drips and let the water drain back into the ground, filtering it as it goes. That's important because our park backs up to a tidal creek of the Lafayette River. And it will cut down on all the mud under the water spigots! 

This is phase one of the project. Phase two will include the installation of the pavers at the water stations as well as pavers in the entrance corral. Grass just can't grow at the entrance because that's where everyone has to come in and out. By putting pavers there, we get rid of the mud (it rains here a lot). And it will make our park ADA friendly. That means people who come to the park in wheelchairs or those who have mobility issues can have a safe way to enter and exit the park. After all, service dogs need exercise, too!

All the work done on the park is by volunteers. People who have day jobs so it may take us a few more weekends to get the water stations going. But we definitely hope to have water by Pugapalooza! 

So yay for water! Yay for volunteers! Yay for people coming together to do something that makes the world a better place, even if they don't directly benefit!