Annual fundraiser set for May 21 at Dunne Park supports a pooch
park
Dunne Park will go to the dogs once more May 21, from 10 a.m. to
4 p.m., for the annual Dog Days of Hollister.
The event is sponsored by the Hollister Dog Owners Group, a
local nonprofit that is working with the city to open a dog park at
the Hollister Municipal Airport. The event is the biggest
fundraiser of the year for the dog park.
Annual fundraiser set for May 21 at Dunne Park supports a pooch park
Dunne Park will go to the dogs once more May 21, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., for the annual Dog Days of Hollister.
The event is sponsored by the Hollister Dog Owners Group, a local nonprofit that is working with the city to open a dog park at the Hollister Municipal Airport. The event is the biggest fundraiser of the year for the dog park.
“We will have a lot of the same things as last year,” said Tammy Ballew, a member of HDOG. “We are still going to have parades and contests and lots of giveaways.”
Improvements at the Hollister Dog Park, a grassy area at the airport, are under way.
“They started work on it last week, in the parking lot, which is the first phase,” Ballew said, of city workers. “We were given money from the city. We were given $30,000.”
The money came out of a parks fund and will cover paving the parking lot and putting in disabled parking spaces.
“The lot has been rough graded and the new materials have been brought in,” said Mike Chambless, the airport manager, who is overseeing the project. “The new base rock has had its first compactions and the ADA parking spaces have been asphalted.”
He said the project should be completed in June, when he will see what money is left over for the second phase of the project.
Ballew said the next phase will include putting up additional fencing to create large and small dog areas in the park, as well as to put together a double-gate entry.
“The next plan is putting out bids for some fencing,” she said. “We have some money and we also have some donated fence.”
Ballew said HDOG received a $5,000 grant from the Community Foundation for San Benito County.
“It is specifically to put in shade structures,” she said. “We will apply for any other grants we can possibly find. We also have a lot of people in the community donating for memorial-type items. We can put plaques in the park (in recognition of the donations) to cover the cast majority of the special amenities such as benches and that kind of thing.”
Until the park is done, HDOG volunteers are focusing on Dog Days of Hollister. The entrance fee is $2 with a donation of dog food or $3 without a donation, and children 12 and under are free. Well-behaved dogs over the age of six months are welcome on a solid leash.
“The only place HDOG makes money is from the gate and the raffle,” Ballew said, noting that the money from vendors is barely enough to cover the cost of putting on the event. “We actually have a group from the high school that is helping us out.”
The high school students will donate the food collected to local shelters and rescue groups.
The Hollister Youth Alliance will also help with the event. HYA received a grant last year to increase the use of Dunne Park, as part of the Dunne Park Restoration Project.
While the schedule for demonstrations is still up in the air, Ballew said that guests can expect to see a herding dog demo as well as some protection dog demos. Lt. John Miller, a game warden who has been featured on the show “Wild Justice,” will do an obedience and search demonstration.
There will again be a Rescue Row for people looking to adopt a pet.
“We already have 10 rescues confirmed,” Ballew said.
Vendors will also be selling dog-related wares. Some of those include local veterinarians, local kennels and booths selling collars or dog clothes. Annie’s Blankets, a nonprofit group that gives donations of blankets and towels to rescue groups, will also have a booth, as will Monterey County Search and Rescue and Pet World.
The dog parade and costume contest is set for 2 p.m. There will also be a kiddie area with a bounce house, face painting and a craft area.
Volunteers will be offering the American Kennel Club’s Canine Good Citizenship test. The test includes 10 tasks to see if a dog is friendly with strangers and other dogs. Ballew noted that some dog-friendly hotels require a CGC certificate to allow dogs to stay on site.
So far, the Gavilan Kennel Club members have said they will not be volunteering at the event due to a boycott of Hollister since the city council passed an ordinance last year requiring the spaying and neutering of Chihuahuas and pit bulls.
“It made it pretty hard because they ran our whole gate and they bring a whole bunch of people,” Ballew said. “We were excited to have them and they knew what they were doing (in putting on an event.)”
She said the group had talked about doing an unofficial dog show, with a small showing area set up before the boycott went into effect.
“I’m hoping and praying they will come back,” Ballew said. “I think it can grow, but we can’t invite any other club to help us because we are in their territory.”
Dog Days
The Dog Days of Hollister is May 21, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., at Dunne Park, at the corner of Sixth and West streets. Admission is $3 per person or $2 with a donation of dog food. Children 12 and under are free. Well-behaved dogs of at least six months of age are welcome on a solid leash.
A dog parade and costume contest will begin at 2 p.m., and there will be demonstrations throughout the day along with vendors and a Rescue Row.
