Dog Park News - Tree Planting and more

RUFF - the Renton Offleash Dog Park was going to plant these lovely trees (see above) with volunteer help this Saturday. Frozen ground and freezing temperatures have put a delay on this venture until the following weekend, December 19th at 9:00 am (weather permitting). So, if you already signed up for tomorrow, please contact RUFF and let them know if you can help next weekend instead. For those of you hale in body and spirit, a handful of folk will be installing the kiosk roof and stabilizing the log benches and putting up a large canopy. Please email rentonoffleash@gmail.com if you would like to join in.

Thanks to McLendon's for all of their support for the Renton Offleash Dog Park - the fence is just great. My furry nephew is a Boston Terrier, so I love the sign.

During this Holiday Season you can further support the Cedar River Dog Park by visiting our local store, Happy Delusions, where you will find an entire selection of goodies on sale. All proceeds go directly to the park, and there is something for both dog and cat lovers.

Pint glasses are $7, pet charms (both cat and dog friendly) are $8 and all of the T-Shirts, regardless of size, are $20. Great stocking stuffers or gifts for colleagues and friends who are partial to their pets.



RUFF - Cedar River Dog Park (Renton's Offleash Dog Park)
Directions click here


Happy Delusions
924 S. Third Street Renton WA 98057
425-255-6078

Bark it up at the Dog Park - Volunteer

This is just a "bark" excursion for you tomorrow to the Renton Off -leash Dog Park. A big load of bark mulch has arrived and needs to be spread around from 9:30 am until about noon. Email rentonoffleash@gmail.com to sign up. You just bring your gloves, sunscreen and water and the necessary tools for spreading the bark will be provided. A perfect way to begin a Saturday that has an Art Walk, Car Show and the opening of our first independent music shop, Tyrannosaurus Records, to complete the rest of the day.

As you might remember, this dog park has been open since June 29th and has seen a great many happy additions and changes since then. Long rustic benches have been added for a weary dog handler to take a rest. A kiosk has been built and another one will be added at the other end ( more wheelchair accessible) very soon. You still need to bring in water, but the city contractor is finishing hooking up the water line by next week. Shade trees will also be planted so that the 10 x10 ft. canopy will not be the only place to escape the sun.

The Grand Opening Ceremony will be held Saturday, September 19th from 10 am till 12 noon and there will be an official "leash" cutting with city dignitaries and everything, so put it on your calendars now.

Renton Off-leash Dog Park
Driving Directions, click here

RUFF ing it- Renton Offleash Dog Park still has some anticipated "fine tuning"

The Cedar River Dog Park is up and going, but there are plans for a little more fine tuning that I wanted to share with you. Debbie Englund, one of the major forces behind the park and RUFF, says it so well - I will let her do the explaining today.

Thank you for keeping the dog park in the news. Our dear Alex, who is our grand builder, (you can see him and his two dogs on the front page of our website here) has been on a well deserved
vacation and once he gets back, he'll get started in building that kiosk for us.

We've had lots of requests:

1. People want shade! It's hot there. We have a meeting next Thursday at the Renton Community Center and that'll be one of the first things we try to work out. We can't have "permanent" structures so we're looking into some other options.

2. Lots of folks want an entry at the other end. We'll discuss that one too. There's a spot for one that makes perfect sense so maybe we can get going on that soon, depending on our volunteer situation.

3. Everyone wants the water to be hooked up soon. The City is working on that, hopefully within a week or two we'll have a spigot so our backs don't continually ache from hauling in jugs of water.

4. There are the crabbies that want us to go away. We ruined their "private dog park" and they're angry about it. I guess they felt OK with breaking the law and allowing their dogs to run around unleashed. I always felt guilty and nervous about it. Especially down there where there are joggers and bicyclists for pups to chase after.

I'll happily keep you posted on what's going on in the new park. It's a hoot.

Thanks, Debbie - we would love to be kept in the "loop" here at the Picarron.

Renton's Offleash Dog Park needs you!

Ready to RUFF it up this weekend? The supplies have arrived and the gig is on for the breaking of ground/setting of posts this Saturday and Sunday for Renton's Offleash Dog Park. Exciting to be getting this park started, and so soon after the fundraisers that were successfully held at Vino's at the Landing, and the Dog and Pony Grill and Alehouse.

Volunteers are needed to help fill the rooster of helpers for this weekend's work detail. You needn't have any experience, don't need to even own a pet (though leave yours at home - this is not time for play) - so if you are at all inclined, please follow the link provided here, and join in the fun. Beverages and snacks will be provided and they have a list of what you should bring at the link above.

Thanks to Debbie Englund and Kevin Poole for all they have done to make this happen, and of course, the City of Renton.

Directions? Visit the RUFF website here for that and more!

Ruff will be putting you to work soon - just not this weekend

Dog Park Construction is Canceled for this weekend.

Sorry, anxious dog owners and volunteers to be the bearer of this news. Seems that the fence materials have not "materialized" yet, so the poles will not be set tomorrow and Sunday as planned. The hope is that next weekend, fingers crossed, the plan to begin construction will resume. All of this straight from Debbie Englund, RUFF Operations Committee.

However, here is the link to follow if you would like to volunteer. Join the email list and get regular updates. This is getting exciting folks - a new park, for our furry family members. What a great summer treat.

http://www.rentonoffleash.org/

Does your dog drink beer?

Even if your dog doesn't imbibe ( I know, he Barks - you drink the Beer) - you know what he does like. He likes to run. He does not like to sit on the couch with a brewski and the remote. He likes to kick up his heels and play like the wild thing that he/she is. He wants park time - badly.

See that face there? That is the face of a dog desperately in need of some offleash time running in the grass. And starting next weekend (June 20-21) with the breaking of ground and the setting of poles in Renton's first Offleash Dog Park along the banks of the Cedar River - that is exactly what all of our soon to be ecstatic puppies are going to be getting. (Want to volunteer ? they still need help, my little peeps!)

We, the owners of small furry friends have had our prayers heard. As seen in the schematic above, along side the front gate to the park there will be an area reserved for the small dogs. Thank you, RUFF organizers for hearing out our needs and seeing that they were met.

The 130 tickets for the fundraising event, Barks and Beers, held at The Dog and Pony Grill and Alehouse, were sold out by the day of the event (Sat. 6/13) and the turnout was good. There were adorable table centerpieces, paw print balloons, a table full of "ruffle" prizes and a drawing for a trip to Victoria, replete with food, whale watching,etc. with tickets which were sold for a $5 donation. Dennis Law, our mayor, that's right! won that one. How did he pull that off? I hear that he bought scads of tickets. Wonder if the trip is "dog friendly?"

Christine Taylor (soon to be Christine Rousse) with her prize black lab plushy.

Amongst those gathered in support of RUFF (Renton's Unleashed Furry Friends/Renton Community Foundation), I saw Marcie Maxwell, Rich Zwicker and ever so briefly, Marcie Palmer. There was seating both in the outside beer garden as well as within the pub at The Dog and Pony. The fare was basic hotdogs and hamburgers with the inclusion of a Veggie burger for our nonmeat eating friends, plus a side of potato salad and some chips. There were about 6 beers on tap, all of them donated, and each ticket came with two beer coupons good for a pint of beer or a glass of wine or soda. Examples of the dog-themed beer of the evening were - Laughing Dog Brewery's Alpha Dog (a nice double IPA), and Flying Dog Brewery Double Dog Double Pale Ale.

We had gorgeous, temperate weather for the event. Everyone seemed to be having a really good time. The beer garden this day, alas, was free of dogs. Sorry Fido!

Big Dog Thanks go out to Jay and Kristen Fisher (Jay, pictured here above) for hosting and helping out with this event for such a good cause. Also, a shout out to the following companies who contributed to the successful evening:
Cedar River Composting
Click Distributing
Deschutes Brewery
Elysian Brewing Company
Food Services of America
Flying Dog Brewery
Fuller's Breweries International
Georgetown Brewing Company
Lagunitas Brewing Company
Laughing Dog Brewing
Mac & Jacks Brewing Co.
New Belgium Brewing
The Odom Corporation
Pacific Beverages
SAB Miller
World Class Beverages

Still want more!? Visit www.rentonoffleash.org

Barks,beers and little woofs

June 13th the Renton Offleash Dog Park will receive another good boost in the arm - the Barks and Beers event to benefit the park will be held at the Dog & Pony and the tickets are going fast. The Dog and Pony has always held human's best friend in high regard - the patio out to the side of the establishment is dog friendly and is used in the warmer months by many as a great place to dine on some great pub food and beer along with the furry "other half".

And while I have your attention - I want to put in a word for the smaller woofs in the crowd. Wookie, above, is a Chinese Crested Powder Puff, who weighs in at a whopping 4 pounds. Just this week he was grabbed up in the jaws of a much bigger dog at a dog park that does not have an area for "smaller dogs". His human, Sue Rider, hopes that in the entire 5 acres that is being allotted for the park, some consideration will be given to the wee folks who don't always have the easiest of times with those 80 pound four leggers. I second that motion. I have a wee one and he is just plain afraid of anyone else's shadow when it comes right down to it, even though he likes to make out with his initial annoying barking that that is not the case. Napoleon complex - owner diagnosed.

Barks & Beers Saturday June 13th 5-9pm
Dog and Pony Grill and Alehouse 351 Park Ave (425) 254 - 8080
www.thedogandpony.com
Tickets available now at the Dog for $30/$35 at door (but only some will be available)
Includes two dog-themed beers and your choice of hamburger,veggie burger, hotdog served with some tasty side dishes.

RUFF!! Renton's Dog Park

This is for the few of you that may not know that Renton is soon to be the proud owner of an Offleash Dog Park that will break ground come June. The location is on a 5 acre parcel of land owned by the city next to the Cedar River Trail - in yesteryear, a brick factory, and now just hillocks and foliage with some ruins here and there. Fast forward to summer, and it will be and incredible dog park that will, I believe, bring some really cool people (and pets) plus additional revenue to our little burg -yeah!
RUFF, the name of the organization headed by Debbie Englund and Kevin Poole (Operations Committee for the dog park), has only been incorporated since March 25, but the strides that have been made are overwhelmingly quick. Just a couple of weeks ago fundraising kicked off with an event at the newly opened Vino's at the Landing, Wags 'n Wine, which netted the park a whopping $8,100. But the money still kept coming in.
The most recent email that I received a week or more ago, stated that the count is at $13,000 and the city has agreed to start ordering the construction materials for the park and change the open date from August to June. Local support for this venture has just been incredible. The city has agreed to match the funds raised by Ruff, and go even further than that, and the Renton Community Foundation has stepped in to take the role of managing the funds and this qualifies the donations now made to Ruff for tax deductions. (For those of you interested in supporting - checks can be made out to Renton Community Foundation - RUFF Fund P.O. Box 820, Renton, WA 98057)

You can become involved at any level, join Ruff on Facebook, sign up to receive the emails that are sent as updates through rentonoffleash@gmail.com or mark in your calendars that the next fundraising event will be in June at The Dog and Pony Grill and Alehouse

Wags 'n Wines tonight my firends!

I have been meaning to finish this posting about Vino's at The Landing for sometime, and I have been computer challenged as of late, so unfortunately, been remiss. If you have been like me, missing your initial chance to check out this new hang in town - a place that is completely local, completely Renton homegrown - with great lunch specials that are easy on the wallet and tasty for the palate and Happy Hour with appetizers that are a couple of bucks cheaper and a wine list that is notably good - now is your time to kiss and make up.

Vino's is the site for tonight's fundraiser for the Renton Off-Leash Dog Park. It begins at 6 pm and runs until 9, tickets will be $35 bucks at the door and there will be a silent auction with some fab gifts, which is slotted for 8:30 pm. More information can be had at rentonoffleash@gmail.com or visit www.rentonoffleash.org What a great boon this park will be for both furry and other Rentonites. We will all benefit to break ground on this new project.

Right there at the Cedar River Trail