"There was car after car after car going by with these sad dogs in the window."
The Soldotna City Council Wednesday night heard some good news about the Three Friends Dog Park. The news was welcome after vandals spread broken glass in the fenced off area recently.
Upgrades have been done and more will be coming thanks to contributions, cash and otherwise, from several organizations, which park booster Connie Hawker said would be acknowledged at the park on a sign.
“It’s a little rustic, but remember, we’re a dog park, right? This is going to be our placard. It just thanks the Kenai Peninsula Association of Realtors. It says, ‘Thank you. Your donations of labor, materials has made this building possible for our community. Homer Electric Association, Kelly Keating-Greible, and Soldotna Rotary Club,'" Hawker said. "This will proudly hang on that new cover and we’re working on bench seating at this time. So who would like the check?”
Dale Bagley, the president of the Kenai Peninsula Association of Realtors, was one of several who pitched in with some elbow grease recently. He said it was a fun experience — except for one thing.
“The hard part, though, was the park was closed while we were working, and there was car after car after car going by with these sad dogs in the window. That part was a little hard to handle," Bagley said. "They all thought they were going to the park, and instead they couldn’t. You could see it on their face that they weren’t happy they couldn’t go in their while we were working.”
Dan Nelson spoke on behalf of the Soldotna Rotary in support of the project.
“On behalf of the Soldotna Rotary Club I just wanted to mention that a great partnership took place here with Connie’s group and the Board of Realtors, and it’s pretty easy when you put a few groups together what can be accomplished. We’re proud to present that check today, and everything’s already been said, so thank you.”
Between the Rotary, Realtors, and the Friends of the Aspen Dog Park, the city received $6,000 in donations for the park’s new entryway pavilion and gazebo on Wednesday night.