Lansing resident Mike Stein spends time Sunday afternoon at the new Northern Tail Dog Park in East Lansing. Stein brought his dog to the park, which includes a fenced-in area for dogs to walk around without a leash.
Canines and community members joined city officials on Sunday to celebrate the debut of — and raise funds for — East Lansing’s new Northern Tail Dog Park.
To realize those goals, the city hosted a “dog carnival” from noon to 4 p.m., where dogs enjoyed several activities and dog owners chatted with people representing a number of animal organizations, such as the Humane Society.
Dogs like Thor, a bullmastiff-labrador, and his cousin Troy chased each other incessantly within the two-acre, fenced-in park just north of the East Lansing Family Aquatic Center, 6400 Abbot Road.
“I think this is really fun,” said Thor’s owner, Lansing resident Raelea Moore. “It’s a really fun opportunity for the dogs to socialize and get a little exercise.”
At the carnival, there were opportunities for dogs to have their palms read and fortunes told and to participate in a booth called “smell-o-rama,” where they could take in the scent of five or six aromatic jars.
The city officials hoped they would raise about $2,500 from the event, said Wendy Wilmers-Longpre, assistant director of East Lansing’s Parks, Recreation and Arts program. She said they were probably about $500 short of that goal, mostly because people didn’t purchase concessions at the rate the city thought they would.
However, Wilmers-Longpre said she was encouraged by the turnout.
“Everybody has commented to us on what an awesome amenity it is to have here in the city and how excited they are to see a dog park,” she said. “We had a lot of people asking questions, and we’ve been able to get some information out, so it’s a great thing.”
The funds raised during the carnival will be used to purchase amenities such as a drinking fountain, trash cans and a station for dog waste, Wilmers-Longpre said.
“We think those are essential for the success of the dog park,” she said.
The dog park was a $25,000 project, but the East Lansing City Council only appropriated about $10,000 to fund it. That left the Parks and Recreation Department with a $15,000 financial gap to fill, said Tim McCaffrey, director of the Parks, Recreation and Arts program.
The city wants to raise those funds before June 30, the final day of this fiscal year.
“This will be the kickoff event for the fundraising campaign,” he said. “I’m certain that the fundraising committee will be looking for additional opportunities to raise the $15,000 in funds that are required for the project.”
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