Amazon Small Dog Area

Small Dog Park Open!
On November 18, Eugene's first small dog park officially opened. The small dog park is intended to provide a safe and secure area for off-leash dogs 25 pounds and under. The site was selected through a planning process documented below. The park itself was constructed and will be maintained by a volunteer group. For information about volunteering with this group, please contact the Lolas Park Group.

Siting Decision Issued
The Parks and Open Space Division has approved a location for an approximately one-half acre enclosed small dog area within the existing boundaries of the Amazon Dog Park.  Actual construction of cross fencing and small dog area facilities will not be completed by POS staff, but is dependednt on local volunteers. POS staff are currently working with a local volunteer group on a partnership, construction and maintenance agreement.
Decision and Map

Second Public Meeting
The Second Public Meeting was held on Thursday, June 16th at the Hilyard Community Center. About 20 citizens attended and listened to a presentation on the feedback city staff received about the initial proposal.  Several location options based on public feedback were presented along with the pros and cons of each option. The meeting ended with a staff led site visit to both option sites. A follow up web survey for feedback about the two location options was open from June 16 through July 31.

Second Web Survey Summary Results
PowerPoint presentation from the second public meeting
     (slides only - without narration)

PowerPoint presentation from the first public meeting 
     (slides only - without narration)
Web Survey Responses from the first survey
Emailed responses (separate from the first survey) 

First Public Meeting
The first public meeting was held on Wednesday, April 20th at Hilyard Community Center. About 50 community members attended to learn about the proposal, the process for updating the master plan, how to provide feedback to the Parks and Open Space Division, and how public input would inform the process. The majority of attendees came in support of the small dog area proposal, while other community members expressed concerns about the planning process, and pointed to other needs in the park not being addressed. Staff explained public feedback on the proposal would be collected through a web survey. The results of the first web survey are available here. 

Frequently Asked Questions

BACKGROUND

In the fall of 2009, while playing at the Amazon Dog Park, an 11 pound Havanese dog 'Lola' was attacked and killed by a much larger dog in front of her family. They decided to turn their grief into action. They organized a community-based effort of small dog loving volunteers and worked with the City of Eugene to make certain small dogs had a safe and secure place to run free among dogs their own size. The group proposed to privately fund an enclosed small dog area at Amazon Park, and take care of it's maintenance.  Here is the initial map of the site proposed for the small dog area. Since approval of the proposal would require a change to the Amazon Park Master Plan, the Parks and Open Space Division held a planning process to help inform the decision about whether to approve or deny the proposal.

For further information, please contact Philip Richardson at 541-682-4906