Neighbors to ask for Rexburg dog park

A group of dog owners is asking the city of Rexburg for a new dog park.

When you’re as big as Atlas the Great Dane, it’s nice to get out and stretch your long legs in a big, open space.

Atlas’s humans said it’s not always easy to go for a good jaunt in Rexburg.

“There’s not a place in Rexburg that’s fenced in and safe for dogs,” said Erin Jarvis, Atlas’s owner.

Jarvis said she worries that dogs could run from the city’s parks and fields into the streets.

“The city doesn’t want a bunch of dogs off leash,” she said.

The nearest dog park, where dogs can run freely, is in Idaho Falls, more than 20 miles from Rexburg.

“It’s hard for Rexburg citizens to drive down (to Idaho Falls) just to put their dog off leash,” said Cami Smith, executive director of Snake River Animal Shelter.

Snake River Animal Shelter runs the dog park in Idaho Falls. The nonprofit is helping Jarvis and her fellow dog lovers go before the Rexburg City Council to ask for a dog park.

Smith and Jarvis hope they won’t have to ask the city for any money.

“The Rexburg citizens’ group that wants this dog park is doing fundraisers… to be able to afford that,” Smith said.

“Rexburg boasts it’s ‘the family community,'” Jarvis said. “Dogs are part of the family, so help them out. Make it a family community, for real.”

The Snake River Animal Shelter hasn’t figured out how much money the dog park will cost. They hope to know more after they join Jarvis at the City Council meeting on Wednesday.

To donate to the Rexburg dog park, visit http://snakeriveranimalshelter.org/help. You can earmark your donation specifically for the project.