The Lafayette UUC congregation has many families with dogs. Several congregational dogs attended the last retreat and many also attend the "Dog Park for a Day" events hosted by the Dog Park Association of Greater Lafayette. The ratio of dogs to people at Outdoor Group outings seems to be almost 1:1. Families with dogs enjoy gathering to talk and watch their dogs play. It is good socialization for all of us!

The Dog Park Association is working to provide a park but will not have one available for nearly a year. The UUC's beautiful property on Union Street is underutilized. Construction plans have not yet been made and construction is unlikely to begin soon. The wooded and grassy areas would make a wonderful dog park.

We propose that the UUC Outdoor Group host a "dog playground" at the Union Street property as a regular and/or special event. A portion of the property would be temporarily confined using fence designed for easy deployment and storage. The congregation would be encouraged to gather with their dogs. After the event, any necessary cleanup would be performed and, if necessary, the fence would be dismantled and stowed.

Attendance would be limited to church members, friends and guests in order to avoid most problems common at public dog parks. Although attendees would be responsible for any damages their dogs inflict, existing liability insurance should provide adequate coverage for the church. A representative from the Outdoor Group will be in attendance at every event and will be responsible for making all attendees aware of their responsibilities.

While some dog parks severely restrict the presence of children, we hope to encourage family interaction. This should be a place where even families without dogs can gather to enjoy the fellowship and to have healthy interactions with dogs. To maintain a safe environment for both children and dogs, we will depend on attentive parents and dog guardians to communicate their needs, and for Outdoor Group representatives to coordinate a safe and beneficial setting.

Although there are multiple suitable locations for a dog park, we propose that the fence be erected on the west side of the house, using the porch as one edge and extending into the wooded area. A 300' portion of fence has been erected in this area as a demonstration. (Utilities were marked first.) This area is not highly visible from the street.

When the fence needs to be dismantled, it may be stored on-site or taken off-site for other uses (such as for the church retreat or to assist the animal shelter with adoption events). We are also likely to have other equipment to store, including water buckets, gates, and agility obstacles.

Families will be responsible for removing waste from the park area. Bags and trash containers will be provided. A representative from the Outdoor Group will be responsible for ensuring that the collected waste is properly disposed.

The use of this area of the property is unlikely to conflict with other events but the group will work with church staff to block out any times when such use would detract from other events.