Dog pond gets makeover from volunteers
POCATELLO, Idaho (KIFI/KIDK) - Volunteers spent the day braving winter weather to make sure our dogs have a safe place to swim in the summer.
Idaho Fish and Game personnel and volunteers are improving the bank of the dog pond at Edson Fichter Nature Area in Pocatello.
Despite not owning a dog, Rosemary Smith saw a need for the pond and wanted to help.
“We just like the idea of having a place for the people of Pocatello to come out and exercise their dogs where they won’t interfere with the other people who are fishing or trying to have recreation without dogs,” Smith said.
The bank of the pond is covered with a liner to keep the water from eroding the bank, but its slippery under dogs feet.
“This past summer, it’s been a little difficult for dogs to get in and out of the pond. Some can handle it well, others couldn’t,” said Fish and Game communications manager, Jennifer Jackson.
To make it easier on the pups, Fish and Game is putting down a thick netting with dirt and gravel layered on top. This will keep the bank intact and provide a sturdy way in and out of the pond for dogs.
Most of the help came from volunteers like Smith, even through the snowfall.
“It’s so much fun to be able to give back to Pocatello. You see a need and say something needs fixing and then you go and do it instead of just complaining that that needs fixing. It’s like, well, go out and fix it then,” Smith said.
More work will need to be done in the spring.
“We do plan on doing some vegetation plantings around the pond just to help stabilize it as well as beautify it,” Jackson said.
People will be able to enjoy the pond while they train their dogs for the next hunting season.
“People like to come out and have (their dogs) retrieve in the water, which is what they would do if they had their dogs out duck hunting or goose hunting,” Jackson said.
Fish and Game and Pocatello asks you to keep your dogs on leash in the Edson Fichter Nature Area until you reach the dog pond. And keep in mind one other rule...
“Just remember this is not a swimming pond for people, it’s a swimming pond and exercise pond for dogs,” Jackson said.
