First annual Winter Woof Fest raises money for 1st dog park

Gone To The Dogs
By Brian Fansler

Gone To The Dogs, a volunteer committee of the Cordova Recreation & Park District, hosted its first annual Winter Woof Fest fundraiser Saturday, December 1st at the Cordova Recreation & Park District headquarters.

The dog park fundraiser included dogs getting their photos taken professionally by Jess Alvarez, courtesy of Alvarez Photography, with Santa Paws (volunteer Ed Steele) along with Santa’s Helpers — volunteers Shellene Evans and Sandra Peterson (Sandra Paws). A number of canines and their owners were so impressed with the photos they decided to have them printed onto a t-shirt onsite.

A number of silent auction items were also available to bid on. The items included Kings tickets, gift cards from Bel Air and The Sheepherders Inn as well as gift certificates from Animal Den Pet Resort, Buffy’s Barkery, Chipotle, gift baskets from Launderdog, Hollywood Video, Booklovers Bookstore and a number of homemade gift baskets and other items. Gone To The Dogs also sold popcorn, drinks and memorabilia at the fundraiser event. In all, nearly $700 was raised for off-leash dog parks within the CRPD. The boundaries of the CRPD are Prairie City Road to the east, Watt Avenue to the west, Jackson Highway to the south and the American River to the north.

The District’s first off-leash dog park at Hagan Park is scheduled to open in the summer of 2008. GTTD has raised sufficient funds for the dog park fence and secured final approval for the site. This winter, GTTD will begin designing Hagan Dog Park in coordination with the Park District. Starting in spring 2008, the Park District can begin installing the dog park fence and in summer 2008 the dog park can be open.

GTTD is planning its next fundraiser, “The Canine Classic” golf tournament for Saturday, May 3rd, 2008 at Cordova Golf Course on Jackson Highway. Proceeds from the golf tournament will go towards the water fountain and water line for Hagan Dog Park.