Dog park proposed for Havre

A local dog owner has taken to Facebook to rally support for creating a dog park in Havre.

In an April 19 post in the Facebook group Havre Questions, Concerns & Comments Jenn Archibald asked if anyone had seriously thought about creating a dog park.

“I moved here from the Flathead and there is a dog park both in Kalispell and Whitefish,” she said in the post. “They are a huge hit to bring dogs together for play and socialization as well as a great way to meet other dog enthusiasts.”

As of this morning, the post received 78 comments and 47 likes, most supportive of the idea.

Archibald said Wednesday that she plans on going to the next meeting of the Havre City Council to see if the city would be willing to donate any city-owned land.

If the city doesn’t donate land, she said she will have to look for another donor or will need to raise money to buy land.

She said dog parks are usually fenced-in so that dogs can be let off their leashes and play safely.

Dog parks vary in size, but she said she hopes to acquire one or two acres for the park, plus a parking area.

Land near the Bill Baltrusch Nature Trail on 16th Street or a portion of U.S. Bank Park on 11th Street would be good locations for a dog park, she said.

Archibald said she has received a lot of positive feedback and offers from local businesses and individuals to do fundraisers. She said Pizza Hut has offered to do fundraising and Northern Montana Health Care CEO Dave Henry has agreed to make a donation on behalf of the hospital once the cost of acquiring the land and the price of materials are figured out.

She said that she has looked into how people in other communities with dog parks went about developing them.

After doing some research about how people in other communities went about creating dog parks, she said that she found one way was to form a dog park club to gather support, raise money and oversee the spending of money for the creation and upkeep of the dog park.

She said that last Saturday she met with four other people and they decided to create the Havre Dog Park Club. A Facebook group has also been set up for anybody who is interested in helping move forward with the dog park to join. As of this morning 142 people have joined the group.

Archibald said that she wants to make the club a 501(c)(3) nonprofit so people can make tax deductible donations, but she needs a local “dog friendly” attorney who can help her make that happen.

People can learn more by visiting the Havre Dog Park Club Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/483112182023300/.

A GoFundMe page where people can make a donation that will go toward the development of a dog park. As of this morning four people have donated $180 of a $10,000 goal. People can visit the Havre Dog Park go fund me account at https://www.gofundme.com/5g7gdvc/.