Organizers seek Kalispell dog park

A pair of public meetings have demonstrated substantial interest in an off-leash dog park in Kalispell.

“We had 40 people show up, and that was just the very first meeting,” organizer Astaras Drolkar of Paws to Play Dog Park said. “It just goes to show how many people really want this to happen.”

Drolkar and co-organizer Chris Carter created Paws to Play in the hope they will be able to fund an off-leash dog park in Kalispell similar to the park in Whitefish.

However, the group still is in preliminary planning stages, looking for land options and monetary donations.

“What we’d really like is to generate interest with someone who’d like to donate land, or anyone who’d like to help with funding,” Drolkar said.

The group has two main options for land right now, but each is only two to three acres and would require several years to fix up.

Drolkar cited Missoula and Bozeman as having ideal dog parks— both are over 20 acres.

“If we’re going to work to create something like this, we don’t want a small park that’s going to be inundated with dogs,” she said, adding that over 62 percent of households have at least one dog, according to a national statistic. “A lot of people here have more than one dog, and this could be hugely popular.”

Several outlets for donations have already been created.

AM Photo will host Love Your Dog Photos today. Dog owners can schedule a 15-minute photo session for their dog for a $40 donation to the park, with all images given to the owner on a CD. To schedule a session, call Alison at 253-4004. Limited spots are available.

The group will also host a rally on Saturday in Lawrence Park to show support for the dog park. Dog owners are encouraged to bring their dogs, on leashes, to the park at 3 p.m. The first 50 people will get a “memento from the event,” according to the group’s website.

For further information or to make a donation, email paws-toplaydogpark@gmail.com or go online to www.pawstoplay.org.