By Nate Seltenrich

Deanna Dawson’s 5-year old beagle, Izzy, is welcome at many local restaurants and watering holes – like Old Caz Backyard, where Dawson and Izzy recently celebrated the end of the workweek on a warm October evening. Petaluma as a whole is a dog-friendly town, Dawson says. But its dog parks leave much to be desired. And she’s got the numbers to prove it.

According to a rating system comparing dog park amenities that Dawson helped devise, no park in Petaluma scores higher than 9 out of 15. Most score closer to 5 – including Rocky Memorial, the only city-owned dog park in town. But Cotati, Rohnert Park, and Novato each have a park scoring 13 or higher.

That’s why Dawson, a marketing professional who moved to Petaluma from Oakland in 2020, is leading a grassroots effort to fund, build, and maintain a full-featured dog park in Petaluma.

Her energy and creativity, not to mention her love of dogs, make her well suited to the task.

And while she says she’s never done anything quite like this before, she does have relevant experience. A couple years ago she drove across the country with Izzy, hitting local dog parks along the way. The one they visited in Fort Collins, Colo., stood out the most, Dawson said, set on multiple acres and complete with a seasonal swim pond.

“I'm not asking for anything like that, of course, but it was sort of eye-opening to me,” she said.

Coming home to Petaluma, she was inspired: “You get to complain a few times, and then you have to act. People are often waiting for someone else to act. I’m like, ‘Okay, I guess it’s me. I guess I’m the one who’s going to act on this.’”

A coalition forms

Dawson got the ball rolling, and soon teamed up with like-minded dog lovers. Now she helps lead the Petaluma Dog Park Project, which formed this spring, along with co-founder Sherri Oster and committee members Suzanne Cardiff and Izora de Lillard. 

The group has already reached out to the city about its plans. And both Drew Halter, director of Parks and Recreation, and Jen Santos, parks and open space superintendent, said they support the effort.

“Petaluma has no shortage of parks, but we only have one dedicated dog park,” Halter said. “Deanna's group kind of approached us with that concept of saying, ‘We are interested in, and Petaluma is really deserving of [another] dedicated dog park. That's their goal and that's their mission. When Jen and I had our first meeting with them, we said, "We're absolutely supportive of this, but let's start looking. Let's start looking about locations and what partnerships could we have.’”

A potential location

On its website, the Petaluma Dog Park Project is already advertising a potential location for the new park, first proposed by the city, on city-owned land next to the Petaluma Airport. The parcel, zoned for parks and open space, includes a segment of the popular east-side path connecting Wiseman Park to Washington Street.

It looks like the perfect spot, and meets many of the group’s siting criteria, Dawson said. These include offering non-neighborhood parking, taking no space from other park users, and avoiding busy streets, according to the group’s website.

The only problem? The city isn’t quite ready to hand it over, say Halter and Santos. They’re still early in the process of considering the proposal, and need to complete more outreach and vetting before a project can move forward.

“As a city, as a community, we have not yet identified this site as something that we can fully support yet,” Halter said. “That's absolutely not to say that we're not also excited about it. We're committed to pursuing community engagement.”

This is likely to include hosting a public “open house” and online survey; seeking feedback from both the Airport Commission and the Recreation, Music, and Parks Commission; and bringing the issue before city council, he said.

"If we keep to the timeline with our community engagement plans, then getting the location approved by late spring is realistic," Halter added.

A perfect score

In the meantime, Dawson and her colleagues at the Petaluma Dog Park Project aren’t just waiting around. Although the city has yet to sign off on their preferred location, they’ve already hashed out a plan for it. Designed pro-bono by a local architect, the concept design includes a double-gated entrance, agility equipment, a splash pool, a shade structure, native-plant landscaping, portable restrooms, and more.

Though Halter and Santos consider it premature, the detailed design does showcase amenities and characteristics the group hopes to see in its ideal Petaluma dog park: one earning a perfect score on their 15-point rating scale. 

Using these 15 criteria, this spring the group assessed 11 existing dog parks and dog runs in Petaluma. Scores ranged from 4 to 9, with all but two scoring 4, 5, or 6. The private Deer Creek Village Dog Park and the city-owned Del Oro Park, which includes an unfenced dog run, scored highest with 9 points.

By comparison, the new Putnam Bark Park in Cotati scored 15. Dog Bone Meadows in Novato and Rohnert Bark in Rohnert Park both scored 13.

Next steps

Beyond its location and design, what still needs to be determined is the financial model through which the park will be built and maintained. The Petaluma Dog Park Project is preparing to fundraise up to $1.5 million to cover the cost of construction, Dawson said, as well as to oversee community responsibility for the park’s ongoing maintenance.

To that end, the organizers are seeking a fiscal sponsor to achieve nonprofit status and begin taking tax-deductible donations. They’re also interested in receiving sponsorships from local dog-serving businesses, Dawson said. For now, they’ve launched a more modest GoFundMe campaign.

Once the park is up and running, Dawson has visions of hosting “yappy hours,” date nights, and other social events. 

And she wants to see it all happen as soon as possible: next year, ideally, though Dawson admits that’s an ambitious, possibly unrealistic goal.

The Petaluma Dog Park Project is nothing if not ambitious.

And the city seems to have the back of the organizers, following their lead – granted, a couple steps behind. 

“They’re super-motivated, super-enthusiastic, and we want to support them,” Santos said. 

“Yeah, and there’s a need,” Halter said. “This is an issue that we have been struggling with, and we will continue to struggle with. I’m excited about just having the conversations.”

Nate Seltenrich is an editor and reporter at Petaluma Voice. He can be reached at nseltenrich@petalumavoice.org.