For many people, finding a safe outdoor area for dogs to roam around can be a challenge. While most parks provide wide open spaces, a lot of dog owners must be vigilant about their furry companion interacting with others or getting out of site. For dog owners in East County, a new dog park could provide a solution to those concerns.
The Martin Family Dog Park officially opened to the public on Saturday in Elma. The grand opening, which drew the attention of dozens of guests and their dogs, came after nearly a year of work in conjunction with the newly built Diamond RV & Heated Storage facility that was completed in the spring.
Tim Martin, who helped oversee the construction of the dog park alongside his family, says that the park is dedicated to his parents, Bill and Joan Martin, for the work they have done in the community.
“We just feel so blessed to have had such great parents that taught us so much about being a good citizen of the country, loving animals, and the value of hard work. It’s just a great way to give back to them and their honor,” Tim Martin said.
Martin said the project originally began with a desire to install a flagpole since that was one of his dad’s wishes. Then after discussions with his brothers and sisters, it slowly developed into an idea of a flag pavilion before eventually adding a completely fenced dog park.
Although the park has been available for the public to use for the last two months, Martin says there was never any advertising for it before the grand opening. Now anyone can find the location of the dog park through a quick online search.
While the celebration kicked off, which featured a ceremonial ribbon cutting, flag raising and cookout, prominent members of the community such as Elma Mayor Jim Sorensen were enjoying the newly opened park.
“I love it. We were looking at putting in a dog park, but we just couldn’t find a location and then I found out Tim was putting one in and saw it as a win-win,” Mayor Sorensen said.
While the overall project was a quick and smooth build, Martin said he hopes the dog park can last a lifetime with the proper respect and care from the community. He also said the dog park is free for everyone to use and the space is being encouraged as a no-leash space.
“It’s not a public park but we want to invite people to come and use it and enjoy it and keep it nice,” Martin said. “Maybe it’s kind of a place for people to reflect on others who are important to them and influenced them.”
What originally started as a desire to install a flagpole slowly evolved into a flag pavilion with a dog park attachment. Elma High School football players were tasked with raising the ceremonial flag during the grand opening of the Martin Family Dog Park on Saturday, Sept. 24, in Elma. (Allen Leister | The Daily World)
