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Truckee Dog Park: With location approved, fundraising efforts begin

Tim Hauserman
Special to the Sun
Nova Lance-Seghi and her former dog, Bosco, who died last year. Nova is working on creating a dog park in Truckee in honor of Bosco.
Courtesy photo |

Fundraiser set for Thursday

A David Bowie-themed dog park fundraiser will be held on Thursday, Sept. 8, at 7 p.m. at Marg’s Taco Bistro, located at 10164 Donner Pass Road in the Brickelltown District of Downtown Truckee.

A $30 entry includes a donation to the dog park; taco bar with meat and vegetarian options; chips, guacamole and pico de gallo; and either one house beer or margarita.

There will be music, a raffle, a silent auction and a costume contest. A prize will be awarded for the best Ziggy Stardust, Goblin King, Diamond Dog, and more. Dogs are welcome on the patio for this event.

Visit the park’s Facebook page at facebook.com/groups/TruckeeDogPark to learn more about the park and fundraising efforts.

TRUCKEE, Calif. — Things are moving ahead with endeavors to build Truckee’s first-ever dog park.

At its Aug. 23 meeting, the Truckee-Donner Recreation & Park District approved a location for a park behind the McIver Arena rodeo grounds on the edge of Truckee River Regional Park.

While the park has garnered official approval, the public will need to conduct a major fundraising effort to make it a reality.



“How much funding will be needed is yet to be determined,” said Steve Randall, TDRPD General Manager. “We will go ahead and develop a budget and come up with funding mechanisms.”

The site was selected with input from TDPRD board members and staff, representatives for the dog park, and representatives of the nonprofit Truckee Donner Horsemen, the latter of whom had voiced concern as to the impact of the park on the rodeo.



Modifications to the location and hours of operation were made, and Randall said that, “based on our meetings, they seem to be on board with it at this point.”

PLENTY OF FEATURES

The dog park site comes to about 3/4 of an acre in size. Part of the land has natural vegetation with scattered trees to provide shade, and a portion of the property has historically been a staging area for the TDPRD.

This area will need to be cleaned up and rehabilitated by TDRPD staff as part of the creation of the park. The land currently includes some gentle slopes near the bottom, with a short steep slope transitioning to the compacted, flat area the TDRPD will be improving.

“The dog park will include both small and large dog areas, double gates for entry/exit, 8-foot fencing for year-round operation, water, shade, sun, meadow grass, seating, and both play and cooling features,” says dog park organizer and Truckee resident Nova Lance-Seghi.

The project will be phased in with features being completed based on when funding is available, unless enough funding can be obtained to complete the project all at once.

How, and when the park will be built is summed up by Randall: “The more funding they can get, the better the park will be.”

Why a dog park?

Lance-Seghi and other dog park organizers say Truckee is an outdoor town with a large number of athletic people and athletic dogs.

Residents here love to enjoy the mountain trails of our area together, but people also have jobs and responsibilities that sometimes don’t allow them to spend hours out on the trails giving their dogs the miles of exercise they need.

Truckee also has elderly, disabled and ill people who cannot walk as far as their dogs need to walk.

In a dog park, a dog can run to their hearts’ content without worrying about conflicts with other people, coyotes, or vehicles. Dogs can get a lot of exercise in a short amount of time in a dog park, and also get a chance to socialize with other dogs, while dog owners get to socialize with other dog owners, finding new friends to join them on the trails when they have the time.

Currently, the closest dog parks to Truckee are in Tahoe Vista and Tahoe City.

Tim Hauserman, a nearly lifelong resident of Tahoe City, is a freelance author and cross-country ski instructor. He may be reached at writeonrex@yahoo.com.


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