Reva Anne Dame had
a little dog named Tyler whom she loved dearly. Her concern for Tyler's well-being led to her monetary donation that helped
establish a dog park in Macon.
At the time of the park's opening, her donation (in stock) was reported to be
worth $76,000. This money was left in trust to the Historic Macon Foundation.
The fund has paid for a new fence, some landscaping, the gazebo, a drinking
fountain, and the kiosk.
A group of
concerned citizens formed the "Friends of the Macon Dog Park" to promote the park and to be
a voice for the park patrons. The Friends of the Macon Dog Park spent a significant amount of time
promoting the off-leash dog park and creating public awareness of this
wonderful opportunity for dogs and their owners.
E-mails were sent
out to Macon
city officials as well as local organizations of interest. Fliers were created
and distributed to the surrounding neighborhood as well as prominent locations
where groups gather. Fliers were also liberally distributed to all
veterinarians in the community and canine-centered organizations. A booth was
set up at the "Paw in the Park" event and fliers were distributed to
raise awareness of the Macon
Dog Park.
The Friends
contacted several Internet websites that list off-leash dog parks national
wide. This has resulted in several visitors to the park who traveling with
their dogs north and south on I-75. Visitors come from all over Georgia and
occasionally from out-of-state. City Council president, Anita Ponder called the
park a "destination" for Macon
visitors. Fliers for the park were distributed at the Macon Visitor's Center.
The Friends gave a
presentation to the Macon Kennel Club about the dog park and what we hoped it
would do for the middle Georgia
area. After contacting the Boy Scouts about the park as a service project, one
scout volunteered to rebuild park benches. A student group from Mercer University
volunteered to remove old concrete waste from the park site.
From 2004 through
2006, monthly meetings were held at the Historic Macon Foundation office to
discuss how to enhance to the new park and promote it to the public. Macon Parks
and Recreation officials participated in most of these meetings. Discussions
included fencing off the creek to prevent dogs getting wet. The Friends
recommended the creek as feature of the park.
The City of Macon's
cable station, Channel 14, runs a promotional spot for the park taken from this
website.
From Summer of 2004
to Spring of 2006 monthly volunteer clean-up days helped keep the park in good
condition. These volunteer days were announced in the Friday Macon Telegraph in
the weekend section.
The Friends kept a
supply of doggie poo bags in the park from summer of 2004 until fall of 2006.
A Cafe Press web store was setup with souvenirs of the Macon Dog
Park.
October 31, 2004
Grand Opening
Cart Dog
Demonstration
Disc Dog Show
May 2005
Yard Sale at the
park
Canine good
citizenship training
August 2005
flea market day at
Smiley's
T-shirt sales
September 17, 2005
Responsible Dog
Ownership Day
event raises $285
canine good
citizenship training
October 29, 2005 First Anniversary
costume contest
silent action
park naming
ceremony "Tyler's
Place"
November 5, 2005
a couple (humans)
are married at the Dog
Park
December 2005
new fence installed
created small dog
area
January 2006
additional stop
sign for safety near park entrance
directional signs
to Macon Dog Park
from nearby intersections
Spring 2006
water fountain installed
total of 54
memberships
December 2006
asked for
volunteers to maintain watch at the park
Spring 2009
Purchased three
park benches, trash can, and poo bag dispenser from Barco
July 2009
Created FaceBook
page for the Macon
Dog Park
