FORT WALTON BEACH — Dog lovers and their four-legged friends are one step closer to having their own fenced-in digs at Liza Jackson Park.
The Greater Fort Walton Beach Chamber of Commerce and Cumulus Broadcasting on Monday kicked off its “Dollars for Dogs” campaign to raise $30,000 needed to build a dog park at the waterside park on U.S. Highway 98.
“This Liza Jackson spot is perfect because it’s vacant land,” said Ted Corcoran, president and CEO of the chamber. “(The city) can’t develop on it ... so it just makes perfect sense.”
Click here to read about Dollars for Dogs
Corcoran and Lisa Captain, promotion and marketing director for Cumulus Broadcasting, said fundraising is vital because no city funds will be used to build the park. The city has agreed to provide the land.
“I’m very encouraged,” Corcoran said. “It’s a dollar for a dog, so everyone who has a dog and thinks they might have a reason to go down there can contribute a dollar.”
The goal, Captain said, is to open the dog park on Oct. 12, which is the date of this year’s annual Dog Daze Festival. That leaves about five months to raise the money so construction can start in August or September.
Captain said Cumulus Broadcasting’s five local radio stations will promote “Dollars for Dogs” on the air.
“Our plan is to do a big push during the month of April,” she said. “We’re going to try and build some events around this.”
Donations of all amounts are needed, and supporters also can sponsor a park bench for $1,000 or a 10-foot stretch of fencing for $250.
The park, which will be located adjacent to Red Lobster restaurant, will have separate areas for large dogs and small dogs as well as access to Santa Rosa Sound.
“I think it’s awesome,” said Dee Thompson, animal services director at Panhandle Animal Welfare Society. “It’s nice because there aren’t too many places where you can take your dogs and let them off the leash.”
Local restaurant owner Jenna Leigh Burger agreed.
“It’s great. There are definitely people out there who want it,” said Burger, whose Tijuana Flats eatery sponsors dog-friendly eating once a month.
Corcoran said a dog park is a natural progression for Fort Walton Beach.
“This area is perfect for doing things outside,” he said. “Fort Walton Beach has over two dozen parks and now we’re taking it up just a touch and having a park for other people and their dogs. Kind of a new niche.”
He said one of the first things many snowbirds and summer tourists ask about is whether the city has a dog park.
“It’s such a popular amenity right now, and seemingly, more people are traveling with their dogs than ever before,” Corcoran said. “It’s definitely an enhancement.”
For more information about the dog park, call the chamber at 244-8191 or go to www.FWBDogpark.com.
Contact Daily News Staff Writer Kari Barlow at 850-315-4438 or kbarlow@nwfdailynews.com. Follow her on Twitter @KariBnwfdn.
