Oconto Falls Dog Park grand opening Saturday

OCONTO FALLS — Barely 13 months after Emily Gonnering got the green light from the Oconto Falls City Council, the grand opening of the city dog park will be held Saturday with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

Final touches were taking place this week as signs were posted, ornamental fire hydrants got a coat of paint and picnic tables and benches were installed. The official ribbon-cutting and grand opening is scheduled for 9 a.m. Saturday at the park, located on North Maple Avenue just south of the bridge.

The organizer and fundraiser of the dog park, Gonnering started the project to achieve the Girl Scout Gold Award, which is the highest award a scout can earn.

“I’ve always wanted to be the best that I can be,” said Gonnering, who said that she has wanted to earn this award since she started in Girl Scouts.

She chose to build a dog park for her Girl Scout Gold Award project because she loves dogs and there was no other dog park in the area.

“It will be used a lot by the community,” Gonnering said. “A lot of dogs are always seen in the community, but there was not really a place where they could be dogs.”

According to Sue Gonnering, Emily’s mom, her daughter decided to choose this as her Girl Scout project because she “has a passion for all animals.”

After receiving approval from the City Council in July 2018 to start raising money for the dog park, Emily Gonnering began collecting donations for the $25,000 needed to build the dog park.

“I started by making dog treats and dog toys and selling them at home football games,” said Gonnering, who also sent out letters to businesses in the community asking for support as well as asking family members and friends for donations.

“I received a lot of in-kind donations, like the concrete slabs that are now being put in,” she said. The city donated the piece of land that is being used for the dog park, and the fire department contributed fire hydrants for the dogs.

The Oconto Falls Area Chamber of Commerce also donated $3,000 toward Gonnering’s $25,000 goal. Chamber President Gail Yatso said creation of a dog park was one of the five things she stated that she wanted when she first became the president in 2013.

“It allows the dogs to get exercise off-lead and their owners, too,” said Yatso, who said that the dog park is special because there is no other place in the city for dogs to run around freely.

“I’ve seen dogs in the industrial park off-lead since some owners have no other place to let their dogs get exercise,” she said.

Yatso also said the dog park will help increase tourism in the area.

Gonnering faced numerous challenges while fundraising and building the dog park, but she said that her greatest challenge was “communicating with so many people on different levels.” She added, however, that this was also her favorite part.

“I’m grateful for the challenges I faced,” she said.

Sue Gonnering, who is also her daughter’s Girl Scout leader, said that “it is impressive to bring a dog park to the community and leave her footprint on her community.” She also was impressed that her daughter was able to raise $25,000 on her own.

Although the city will be taking over control of the dog park, Emily Gonnering said she wants to turn the brown building that is on the property into a mural of dogs by working with the Oconto Falls School District and their art department. She also said that there is a possibility that an agility course may be added to the park in the future.