September 13, 2019
By: Dwayne Page
A representative of the Boyd Foundation met with local leaders and dog lovers Friday morning at city hall to make the formal presentation of a $25,000 Dog Park Dash grant to Smithville for the development of a dog park.
Randy Boyd, the founder of the Foundation, had planned to be here for the occasion but was unable to make it. Grant Coordinator Harrison Forbes made the presentation on behalf of Boyd.
Smithville was among more than two dozen communities across Tennessee awarded grants this year totaling $900,000 for dog parks.
Plans are for the dog park to be located on property owned by the City of Smithville near the animal shelter behind Tenneco Automotive.
“I am excited. This is something I have been wanting us to have for a long time. I had actually looked at a dog park in Knoxville and found out that Randy and Jenny Boyd of the Boyd Foundation provided the funding for that one through the Tennessee Dog Park Dash program so in the spring I applied for funding through this Foundation to build a dog park here in our community” said Alderman Gayla Hendrix.
After a long-standing relationship with PetSafe® on its Bark for Your Park program, an initiative that awards dog parks to communities around the country through a grant system, a new partnership was formed with The Boyd Foundation to bring the same goal a little closer to home.
The program, called Tennessee Dog Park Dash, is a multi-year commitment toward making Tennessee the most pet-friendly state in America. Through the program, The Boyd Foundation makes a $1 million annual donation for building and enhancement of dog parks in communities across the state.
The Boyd Foundation is guided by Randy Boyd, alongside his wife, Jenny.
“The Dog Park Dash grant program was an initiative started by the Boyds. It is part of the Boyd Foundation. Randy and Jenny own a company called Radio Systems, based in Knoxville which is one of the largest Pet product companies in the world. They sell about 5,000 pet products all over the globe. They had built a dog park about 10 years ago and it turned out to be a huge success so they started a national campaign program with Radio Systems, a nationwide contest called Bark for your Park. It was great and a lot of cities were winning but none in Tennessee so Randy and Jenny decided with the Boyd Foundation to concentrate on Tennessee and the initiative is to build 100 dog parks across the state through the grant program where communities can compete for it. For Smithville, it wasn’t just a gift. They competed against a lot of cities. Its based a lot on how much the community is engaged and wants it. There are a lot of factors that go into picking the winner. Its been great this year seeing all the winners across the state in the different sized communities and Smithville is one of those. We’re really excited and look forward to coming back to be part of the ribbon cutting and opening of the new dog park in Smithville,” said Forbes.
Now that the grant has been awarded, Alderman Hendrix said the next step is to create a design for the park.
“A basic park is divided into two sections, an area for smaller animals usually under 30 pounds and an area for larger animals so they will all be in the same enclosed area but divided by a fence. We need a water source so there can be a water fountain for the pet owners and the dogs as well as shade trees, benches, and maybe some agility equipment for the dogs to play on such as jumping over hurdles, digging in sand pits and things like that. There are lots of different ways for the park to be designed. I have already started looking at ideas on the Internet. So that is the next process, to look at designs and decide what we want to do and how we want our dog park to be laid out. Once we design it and develop our budget, we can get started and then once its built the city will have to maintain it,” said Hendrix.
Before it opens, rules will be established for the dog park. “There will be a list of rules that will be posted. The owners must stay with their dogs at all times while in the park. The dogs must be on a leash when they are brought in and when they are taken out. Once you’re in the park designated for your pet, you may unleash your dogs and play with them,” she said.
Joining Forbes for the grant award presentation Friday morning at city hall were Margie Atnip, Alyssa Patterson, DeKalb Animal Coalition Shelter Director Megan Moore, Mayor Josh Miller, City Administrator Hunter Hendrixson, Alderman Gayla Hendrix, Abi Hendrix Wilbur, Emmaly Bennett, and Laura Parsley along with a few furry friends.