Local Kennel Owners Enter Warsaw In Contest To Win Funds For Dog Park
Local Kennel Owners Enter Warsaw In Contest To Win Funds For Dog Park
Posted
Jennifer Peryam-jperyam@timesuniononline.com
Local Kennel Owners Enter Warsaw In Contest To Win Funds For Dog ParkWarsaw resident Amy Ross entered the city into a national contest to win $100,000 toward building a local dog park. The “Bark For Your Park” contest is sponsored by Petsafe, an online pet supply store. As of this morning, there were 54 comments on the website in support of a dog park for Warsaw at www.barkforyourpark.com One U.S. city or town will be awarded $100,000 toward building a local dog park. Some of the other cities in Indiana that have applied for the funds for the dog park are Fort Wayne, Bloomington and Evansville. Ross said on May 6 she was online ordering pet doors for her parent’s business and she saw information online about the contest. She thought it would be a good idea to enter Warsaw. She sent a mass e-mail to more than 120 of her parents’ business clients seeking their comments that count as votes for the dog park. Ross said she owns seven dogs of her own, and said they would benefit from a local dog park. Ross is an employee of Ruff Inn Kennel & Pet Resort, 2265 S. Packerton Road, Warsaw. The dog boarding business was found in 2002, and offers play time and socializing boarding services for dogs. “We operate a very small-scaled dog daycare and our waiting list to join is very long,” Ross said. The dog boarding business is owned by Ross’s mother, Lisa Wehrly, and her father, Robert, serves as a maintenance man at the business. Ross’s sister, Jill Wehrly, also owns Bark Yard Day Play, a dog day care that is housed at Ruff Inn Keenel & Pet Resort. The business is booked until next spring for day care and boarding, Ross said. “We currently have 15 to 25 dogs at the daycare per day, and we like to keep it at 15 so we have more one-on-one time with the dogs,” Ross said. “A lot of clients come from Chicago and they are devastated there is not a dog park for their dog to play and socialize in Warsaw.” “The problem is there is a waiting list up to six months for the day care, and if people have a second dog we can’t take them because we are at capacity,” Lisa said. A dog park would be a fenced-in facility with obstacle courses and a place for pet owners to exercise their pets. Ross said clients have mentioned they want a safe place for their pets to socialize, interact and exercise. Active citizens and pet owners are encouraged to participate by going to www.barkforyourpark.com and to show their support for a dog park through comments for their city now through June 1. Finalists will be selected and will need to shoot a video of their town showing the need for the dog park, and must show support from community leaders. People who comment are asked to provide their e-mail, and can comment on the need for the dog park and comment on how they would support it. In addition to community enthusiasm, PetSafe will review the availability of land and resources as well as the overall community impact of a dog park. PetSafe will select 15 finalists, and then it will be up to the public to “bark for your park” and vote for their favorite. The finalist community with the most votes will receive $100,000 toward building a PetSafe dog park. PetSafe will announce the winner in August. To become a finalist, PetSafe encourages community members to partner with local officials, animal shelters and welfare groups, animal professionals and pet owners to best demonstrate the city’s dedication to its pet community.
