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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883
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What do you want in a dog park? City of Spokane sends out new survey on possible future sites

Fishing for salmon oil: Sadie, the 8-year-old yellow Lab, awaits the throwing of a play toy from her owner, Jim Bannon, on Wednesday at the Lake Spokane boat launch in Riverside State Park. The dog is blind but will retrieve the floating object after hearing the splash. Bannon says he also covers the toy with salmon oil so the scent can be picked up more easily. “She is smarter than her owner,” Bannon said. The pair play in the same spot nearly everyday from May to October. a floating game of fetch (Dan Pelle/The Spokesman-Review)
By Julien A. Luebbers The Spokesman-Review

Spokane Parks and Recreation is seeking input on potential new dog parks in a survey.

The 20-question survey, which is open through Sept. 5, asks participants to help determine the course of dog park development in the city over the next decade.

“We heard loud and clear in the master planning process, the desire, the trend, for dog parks within the city of Spokane. So with this survey, what we’re doing is setting the criteria that helps us determine the filters that we need when selecting a site,” said Garrett Jones, director of Parks and Recreation for the City of Spokane.

The new survey will be used to better understand what aspects and amenities are important in the design and construction of dog parks to help the city find sites.

The survey comes just months after the city announced the name and plans for the Spokane Humane Society Paw Park in Riverfront Park in mid-June. The $750,000 project, which is funded entirely through donations, also included public input from a survey launched in April.

In particular, the survey gauges respondents’ feelings about environmental impact of dog parks, placement, ADA accessibility, park size, dog-size separation and utilities.

The public outreach process is central to Parks and Recreation’s operation, Jones said.

“That’s the reason we exist, is the community,” he said.

Jones said that once Parks and Recreation has confirmed criteria, they will involve citizens in another round of input on potential sites.