Oxford, Miss. (OLHS) – Oxford is among the top communities nominated in a national contest that will award $100,000 to enhance or create one U.S. dog park and $25,000 to two others.
The PetSafe Bark For Your Park contest started on May 1, and on June 15, the competition will narrow to the top-15 finalists—a group to which the Oxford currently belongs. At present, more than 350 cities are competing nationwide. Winners will be announced on August 3.
“Oxford is a top-notch community and our dog park should be top-notch, too,” said Leigh Anne Martin, an Oxford Lafayette Humane Society (OLHS) volunteer who nominated the city and is coordinating the push for votes. “This is an opportunity for the people of Oxford to come together and create a place that’s beneficial to dogs and dog owners.”
According to the contest rules, voters must create a login ID and can vote twice a day (once on the website and once on PetSafe’s Facebook page) until the end of the contest. Last year, Huntington, West Virginia, won the $100,000 prize with 87,854 votes.
Currently, the City of Oxford has one public dog park located next to OLHS on McElroy Drive. As Martin pointed out, the former Little League field now littered with young trees is steadily becoming more popular among area dog owners—especially in the spring and summer.
Regular visitors have a running wish list: more seating for owners, shading, training obstacles for dogs, lighting for the winter months, and a new gate that would allow dog owners to bring their pets into the park more easily.
For more information on the contest and to vote online, visit http://www.petsafe.net/barkforyourpark.
This article was published in The Local Voice #157 (May 31-June 14, 2012)…Click here to download the PDF of issue #157.
YEAH, Leigh Ann! Thanks for getting this started and thanks for your great organizing drive!
Oxford really needs to win and to expand the dog park!
While I agree with getting a larger & better dog park, I wonder what the city’s response to the additional money would be. After all, the city managers, mayor included, were extremely reluctant in providing a safe & secure place for pets & their owners to go for needed exercise. I had planned to make a sizable donation to the dog park fund but have since decided to put that money into fencing my own yard and discontinuing use of Oxford’s pitiful excuse for a dog park. The city managers only care about getting on the “A” lists rather than taking care of community needs. I have a sneaking suspicion that any money given to the city for an upgraded dog park would find itself allocated elsewhere…like into bike paths, bike signs and other bicycle related things since that seems to matter to the city managers.