The Jaycees Park, along Saugatuck and Douglas roads, in Oswego, is location the Oswego Park & Recreation Foundation has tabbed for a proposed dog park. The foundation hopes to have the park ready by sometime in 2016. Photo by Judy Harvey

The Oswego Park & Recreation Foundation is sending out an urgent message to dog owners this week.

You can make the vision of a local dog park become more of a reality by stepping up and voting early and often in a new online fundraising campaign.  The foundation is participating in a PetSafe contest, in which the organization will be awarding grants to communities throughout the country to go toward building a dog park.

“Give dogs in your community a space to be themselves by winning $100,000 to build a local dog park! Four runner up communities will also win $25,000 for their parks. Spread the word to family and friends near and far  Vote for your community twice per day, every day,” PetSafe posted on its Facebook page.

Only one week remains on the contest – it ends June 10 – so the Oswego Park & Recreation Foundation wants residents, dog owners and just dog lovers alike, to go to this link, http://ow.ly/NsygS, and vote as often as they can for the Oswego dog park.

The foundation ideally would like to have Fido’s Field, as they are calling the park, open next year at Jaycee’s Park, Saugatuck Road, in Montgomery. That location was seen as a good place to access for residents of both Oswego and Montgomery who use the Oswegoland parks, foundation chairman Kelly H. Summers said.

“If we are able to secure that grant, that goal would be more than feasible. But if we not, we have to do this in chunks,”  Summers said.  The original goal is to have the park open by 2017.

The foundation’s plans for the park are ambitious and it said that in order to build the park it wants the price tag could come between $250,000 and $300,000.   Currently, the foundation has raised around $2,000 so “we still have a long way to go,” Summers said.

Not wanting to use taxpayer money, the foundation is building a fundraising strategy to gain awareness and financial support for its efforts. The foundation said it is getting behind this project after receiving “ongoing requests” in recent years from residents who want to see a dog park here.  The Oswego Parks & Recreation Foundation began in 2005.

One huge initial cost is just getting the turf at the park in shape. After that, there is fencing and gates to put up so that smaller dogs can have a separate area if owners wish to use it, and eventually getting a computer system in place where dogs and owners are registered with key card access. The users would get the card as part of an annual subscription fee that could go toward ongoing maintenance costs.

A critical piece Summers feels strongly about is making sure the dog owners provide proof their pet is up to date on all shots. The recent dog flu outbreak has prompted many veterinarians to urge dog owners to be cautious when visiting suburban dog parks.

Proof of immunizations is a “safety net” to have in place to make sure our pets stay safe and healthy,” said Summers, who has two dogs, a 10-year-old pug named Charlie and an 11-year-old rat terrier named Chulo.

The plans for Fido’s Field developed out of visits to dog parks throughout the suburbs, including some in Aurora and southern Cook County. Foundation members also met with local veterinarians for their input.

“We want to get as many ideas and to make our park the safest and most beautiful around,” Summers said.

The foundation began its official Fido’s Field campaign at the 2014 PrairieFest and has taken advantage of other Oswego area events, including last month’s Wine of the Fox,  to promote the cause. Foundation members will return to PrairieFest this year on June 18-21 to again promote the fundraising and to sponsor the Pop Up Dog Park at  Prairie Point Park.

Until then,  folks can get on board the cause by voting in the PetSafe campaign and voting as often as permitted and spreading the word throughout the Oswegoland Park District area.

“Everyone we speak to about this is excited. But, now we have to look at how we inform the whole community about this,” Summers said.

Anyone interested in learning more about the dog park project , can contact the Oswegoland Park & Recreation Foundation at (630) 554-4440 or email foundation@oswegolandpd.org.