Guest Opinion: A Better Place for Dogs and Their People

— by Jeff Hanson —

When my wife Deb and I first arrived on Orcas to operate Pawki’s for Pets, one of our family members was a black lab, who we found a few years earlier at an Oregon shelter. A stray with no name, she had quite a fear aggression toward other dogs. We lived far from town in Oregon and the rare visits with other dogs were challenging. On Orcas, when she started to chase other dogs out of the store, we knew we needed to find a way to socialize her with other dogs. But how?

One evening, Rubi and I were walking up through Bonnie Brae when we ran into a new friend (everyone was new to us then) with her dog. We walked along side by side until Rubi calmed down a bit and found ourselves at the off-leash area. Though I was terribly hesitant, we let the two dogs go in and have some time with each other. To my amazement, the dogs actually played! That was the start of many enjoyable visits to the “dog park”, where we saw a transformation in Rubi.

The San Juan County Land Bank, Orcas Park and Recreation District and OOLA, the nonprofit operator of the current off leash area, are planning a new, permanent home for the Orcas Off-Leash Area. It would be in the northeast corner of Buck Park, near the skate park, and would replace the current facility on Port property near the airport, which must close soon.

There are many advantages of the new location: It is twice the size of the current area, with separate large and small dog areas, will have clean running water and trees for shade and a more natural feel. It will also have great parking adjacent to other recreational facilities. But for me, the most important aspect is that the off-leash area will finally have a permanent location with professional management by Park and Rec.

OOLA Needs the community’s help to make it happen! Funds are needed now to prepare the site for the new facility and OOLA is participating in the OICF Give Orcas Campaign. I’m grateful that contractors have offered OOLA their time to do the site preparation and build fences and that dozens of people have already donated, but more is needed to get the project started. The dogs and so many people will appreciate it if you head on over to GiveOrcas.org to donate now. Time is short; the Give Orcas campaign ends Friday!

The dog park has transformed the life of hundreds of dogs and people who live on and visit Orcas, and the time has come to create a permanent facility to enhance life on Orcas for many decades to come.