This past Tuesday, August 29, the Grinnell Rotary Club gathered at the Westside Family Restaurant for their weekly meeting. The Rotary Club's guest speaker was Barry Driscoll, a representative from the Poweshiek Animal League Shelter, (PALS) which is a non-profit, no-kill animal shelter for cats and dogs. Barry spoke to the Grinnell Rotary Club about the future plans for a 2.5 acre off-leash dog park that will be located on the same property as the shelter at 4167 20th St in Grinnell, just south of Brownell’s. The dog park will be owned and operated by PALS and will be open to the public for a minimal fee.
Barry described the details of the dog park and their efforts for raising $40,000 to open the park. Barry informed the club, “we are half-way there and because of that we have ordered the fence for installation.” Barry explained "There is a large dog area that has a pond in the center of the 2.5 acres that will have an access gate for those owners that would like their companion to go swimming".
The park will also have a small fenced area for smaller dogs. Your pups will have the opportunity to experience agility training. Barry explained that “five minutes of thinking and focusing on obstacles for your dog is like walking them for an hour”.
Are you interested in helping? There are several ways that you too can volunteer to assist PALS in getting the dog park up and running so that your companion can run free in a safe area and enjoy the company of other dog friends. You can visit, http://www.palspets.net/ to submit a tax-deductible donation, volunteer to assist in clearing the landscape, or if you have a special expertise in landscaping, paving, gravel, installation of water fountains or signage, then you can volunteer to help them with these tasks. “We are looking forward to the PALS Park coming soon”!
Janet M. Stutz
