| It's All About the Dogs! | June 2010 |
|
Greetings!
Welcome to Summer!
We've had a great Spring with some nice weather and high temperatures and it looks like Summer will be more of the same. Please remember to bring water for your dogs this time of year. Not just at the park, but whenever you take them out. Dehydration can sneak up very quickly on our pooches and we too often we don't notice the doggie expression that means "I'm thirsty!" until the need is extreme. Be prepared; take a moment to check out: OSPCA Summertime Dangers and read about the symptoms and treatment of heat stroke and other summer time hazards.
Event after event this time of year... I wasn't sure if we'd even be able to get a June newsletter out because we've been so busy. Richmond Hill's Heritage Village Festival was a bit of a wash out (literally) as it rained all morning; torrential at times. The Klub's volunteers were troupers! Although attendance was lower than anticipated, it was still a success nonetheless as many of our community took time to check out the festivities. We managed to collect a few donations and met a couple dozen new friends of the park. A big thank you to Sylvia Milne of Therapeutic Paws of Canada who generously donated an event tent (pictured above at the Oak Ridges Fair) We've made good use of it already (and it's kept us dry) and we hope to use it for many more events in the future. Thanks Sylvia!  |
The Oak Ridges Fair was very successful. What a terrific new venue right on the shores of Lake Wilcox. The Town is doing an amazing job of its revitalization of the lake and we were excited to see the progress that had been made on the new Oak Ridges Community Centre nearby. The Klub was able to collect a few more donations and gathered dozens and dozens of new park supporters and patrons. The feedback on the leash free park continues to overwhelm.
During the course of these last two events and the upcoming Canada Day Celebrations, we have been collecting ballots for a draw for one of almost a dozen prizes donated by our commercial sponsors. Winners will be notified right after Canada Day.
Speaking of Canada day, this may be the last opportunity for a while to meet the Klub leadership team and express your support. We will have a booth set up and will be accepting donations, taking new memberships, giving away goodies and collecting ballots for the big draw. Donators of $20 or more can receive a K9 Klub hat or t-shirt. Please be sure to drop by and say hello!
As you may have noticed, a new structure has appeared in the park! Finally! Please scroll down to the next article for details!
See you at the park!
|
|
|
| _______________________________ | | |
| _______________________________ | | |
|
Contact Us |
Membership Inquires:
Dog/Owner Aggression Issues:
|
|
|
| _______________________________ | | |
|
The Town Still Needs Feedback!
To keep the park open after the trial period we need overwhelming community support. Most people only take the time to email or send letters when they have a complaint or an issue, however positive feedback on the park is important for the Town to receive. Please take a moment and send Patrick Lui, Parks Planner, your supporting words and experiences:
|
|
| |
| |
|
Park Bulletin Board Installed!
On Saturday, June 19th, the K9 Klub finally had our Park Bulletin board installed. Preliminary reviews are 5 stars!
Special thanks to Don Walker of Port Dover, father of Co-Chair Dave Walker, for the wonderful design and fantastic workmanship, park patron Mark Binette who provided the auger and assisted with assembly and installation and also to Canadian Tire, Richmond Hill North for dropping by with a case of much needed drinking water!
Installation took a couple hours longer than anticipated due to striking a boulder 3.5ft down on the 2nd hole but despite that small setback, the cedar framework, roof, and sign header are complete and firmly set to a depth of 4 feet. We now await the final piece of the bulletin board insert with its aluminum frame and locking plexi-glass cover to arrive for anticipated installation the weekend of July 3rd.
It was an experience, however, to do the installation while the park was open. We decided not to close the park during installation because it was a beautiful Saturday morning and all of the park patrons were aware of the work and really good at calling their dogs back as needed. But, we all know dogs and to them the smell of a fresh dug hole is irresistible! In the split second it took us to temporarily cover the first 4ft hole, a curious terrier fell into the hole nose first! Dylan Walker, who was assisting and taking pictures, immediately dropped the camera and dove belly down to the hole and snatched the pooch up and out within seconds. Thanks for the rescue Dylan! Other than a little extra mud on the fur, the pooch was none worse for wear and was soon off running around again. We now refer to it as the "Dog-in-the-hole incident!"
Open letter of thanks from Co-Chair Neal Nicholls:
June 21,2010
On behalf of the directors, members, volunteers and park users, I would like to express thanks to the "Walker family," for taking the responsibility of making our K9 Klub sign board a reality.
Thank you to David Walker for commissioning his father Don Walker to design and build the sign board, and for working with Richmond Hill's Parks Department, Patrick Lui, and Canadian Tire, Richmond Hill North's Mario Jaramillo, [who generously funded a portion of the sign], for their design approval, and the logistics of erecting the sign along with the help of volunteer Mark Binette. .
Thank you to Wendy Walker for designing the header and for working with the Parks Department and Canadian Tire for their approval and Whitehorse Signs the printer.
I would also like to give credit to Chase Walker, David and Wendy's, 12 year old, son for coming up with our Slogan "IT'S ALL ABOUT THE DOGS".
KUDOS to the " Walker Family"
Neal Nicholls
R.H. K9 KLUB.
CO- CHAIR |
| ___________________________________________________________________________ | | |
| Coming Events
June 27, 2010 (Sunday) K9 Klub Monthly 10 Minute Clean Sweep
Monthly clean sweep at the park. We'll be picking up garbage along the paths leading up to the park and around the fence. The more people we have , the quicker it'll go! Just bring a grocery bag for garbage and meet up at the park entrance at 11am. July 1, 2010 Canada Day Celebrations! at Richmond Green
FREE ADMISSION - Compliments of Tim Hortons
Free all day event admission with donation of a non-perishable food item to benefit the Richmond Hill Food Bank. This exciting day hosts one of the largest municipal fireworks display in the Region. A variety of activities for the entire family are offered, including children's games, musical entertainment, midway, food pavilion, and so much more.
Be green and save yourself the parking nightmare; utilize the FREE Shuttle buses leaving from 6 locations around Richmond Hill. Visit the Town website for locations.
Be sure to visit the Home Show 11am-5pm. Almost 100 local businesses will have booths to browse, including the K9 Klub! |
| ___________________________________________________________________________ | | |
|
Park Volunteer News 
The park volunteers haven't had a chance to meet as a group in quite a while and several more members have expressed interest in joining the team. For this reason, we have decided to use the scheduled "10 minute clean sweep" day on the last Sunday of every month as a standing meeting date for park volunteers to meet briefly to catch up on park happenings, maintenance issues, discussions on further improvements etc. We will also use this time for orientation, handing out information and badges to new volunteers.
This means next meeting of the park volunteers is at 11am on Sunday, June 27th at the front entrance. If you have are interested in joining our team of park volunteers, come on down!
Also, if any students require volunteer hours, come help us out at the clean sweep; keep an eye on the event calender for future dates and times. |
| ___________________________________________________________________________ | | |
|
|
K9 Klub To-Do List
 An ongoing issue we have discovered is erosion under some of the park gates. The only accepted resolve at this time is to continue to build up these areas with sand and gravel until the Town installs something more permanent such as concrete thresholds. This will not be done until the park is deemed permanent next year. Now that we have the park Bulletin board successfully under our belt, it is time to look at the other items on our list to tackle: In no particular order, these are some of the suggestions from our members: - Sun Shelter
- Tool bunker/shed
- Additional Trees/shrubs
- Additional park benches
We encourage you to email us your ideas and order of priority. We will compile a list and perhaps email out a survey to help prioritize your ideas. We can't do it all at once and projects will require additional fundraising. |
|
To Our Corporate Sponsors:
On behalf of the Richmond Hill K9 Klub and our loyal friends we wish to thank you for your generous donations and ongoing support.
and our newest sponsor:
Thanks to Canadian Tire's generous donation, the K9 Klub now has a brand new Bulletin Board installed at the park!
|
|
|
|
|
| ___________________________________________________________________________ | | |
|
| |
|
Upon entering a small country store, a stranger noticed a sign saying DANGER! BEWARE OF DOG! posted on the glass door. Inside a harmless old hound dog was asleep on the floor besides the cash register.
He asked the store manager, "Is that the dog folks are supposed to beware of?"
"Yep, that's him," he replied.
The amused stranger inquired, "That certainly doesn't look like a dangerous dog to me. Why in the world would you post that sign?"
The owner responded, "Because, before I posted that sign, people kept tripping over him." |
 |
|
We have lots more information to share so keep an eye out for future newsletters and notices. Thank you very much for your support.
Full Membership in the Richmond Hill K9 Klub is currently $20/year and entitles you to attend member only events, official general meetings of the Klub, vote on issues, stand for nomination and election to the board of directors and generally get involved in the politics and growth of the Klub.
Remember...
It's All About the Dogs
Sincerely,
David Walker, Co-Chair
Richmond Hill K9 Klub
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 New customers save up to $15 on the purchase of any brand dry dog food
Present this coupon and receive $5 off a 5lb bag OR $10 off a 15lb bag OR $15 off a 30lb bag when joining the Global Pet Foods Frequent Buyer Program.
Valid at the Tower Hill location only: 126 Tower Hill Road Unit 9 Richmond Hill 905-883-4729 |
| | Offer Expires: August 31, 2010 |
|
|
