News Flash

COOKEVILLE – Cookevillians said, “We want a dog park in Cookeville!”

Now the city is getting a public dog park thanks to a $100,000 grand prize grant from Tennessee Dog Park Dash, funded by The Boyd Foundation.

Randy and Jenny Boyd of the foundation will be on hand Sept. 12 at 4:30 p.m. at the Cookeville Municipal Building, 45 E. Broad St., to present the check, and they welcome dog owners and others interested in the dog park to join them.

“Bring your furry friend with you and celebrate the incredible dog park that Cookeville will be building with their $100,000 dog park grant,” the Boyds said on their Facebook event page for the check presentation. “We can’t wait to celebrate with you.”

More than 50 cities competed to receive funds to build or enhance dog parks in their communities. Cookeville was one of two $100,000 grand prize winners, the other being Columbia in Maury County. Twenty-eight other Tennessee cities are getting $25,000 grants.

“We were blown away by community support for dog parks, especially in Cookeville,” the Boyds said.

The award announcement in July followed a community engagement period in June in which grant applicants and their communities were given an opportunity to show how much they wanted to receive a Dog Park Dash grant through social media posts using the hashtag #dogparkdash, as well as letters of support and media coverage.

“Our local community played a big role in helping secure this grant, so we are hoping they will come celebrate the award recognition with us on Thursday,” Rick Woods, Cookeville Leisure Services director, said.

Cookeville’s proposed 1.5-acre dog park, to be built inside Cane Creek Park, will feature fenced-in areas for dogs to run free – separate sections for smaller dogs and larger dogs – as well as a variety of play components for dogs of all sizes, ages and abilities, benches and shade areas for dogs and owners, watering stations, pet waste supplies and receptacles, and a parking lot.

“We have gotten good feedback from dog park enthusiasts about what they want in a dog park, so we already have good design ideas,” Woods said. “We will soon be entering the official design phase and, in late spring or early summer of 2020, be ready to begin construction.”

Tennessee Dog Park Dash was established in 2018 with the mission of making Tennessee the most pet-friendly state in America. For more information, visit www.dogparkdash.com.