October 9, 2007

a name for a doggy park?

The folks behind the push for a dog park in Chimborazo met last night, with one of the topics being what this dark park could be called (other than the pedestrian “Chimborazo Dog Park”). The 3 suggestions are: (1) Chimbo Dog Park, (2) Church Hill Dog Park, and (3) CHill Dog Park. State your preference in the comments or suggest something else if you’ve got a good one…

Posted at 5:53PM under Oakwood-Chimborazo, community | Tags: CHDP, dogs

69 Responses to “a name for a doggy park?”

posted by rm at October 9, 2007 9:22 pm :

Chimbo Dog Park

Can’t believe nobody nominated the Michael Vick Memorial Dog Park with the slogin of “Where Fido goes to train to be a winner!”
posted by Susan at October 9, 2007 10:32 pm :

K9 Chimboree

I know, its dumb…
posted by namegame at October 10, 2007 5:18 am :

pooch playground, the doggie date, canine quarters, and …sniff a butt dog park. hey it’s late.
posted by James at October 10, 2007 7:00 am :

the Church” Geese roam the streets so our dogs come here” Hill dog park
posted by Scott at October 10, 2007 9:10 am :

Church Hill Dog Park sounds suitable.
posted by Chimbo Dog Owner at October 10, 2007 9:16 am :

My vote is for “The Delores ‘Barking Mad’ McQuinn Memorial Dog Park”.

Though I do see certain merit in geese taunting. Perhaps there could be geese shaped toys for the dogs to defame.
posted by C at October 10, 2007 4:11 pm :

We wanted to keep it to something specific about the Hill since that’s where its going to be hence the idea CHill Dog Park; notice the CH for Church Hill and both are capitalized.
posted by Steven at October 10, 2007 4:47 pm :

DALMATION PLANTATION
posted by elliot at October 10, 2007 5:28 pm :

CHIPP. Church Hill Pet Park.
posted by Bill Conkle at October 10, 2007 6:06 pm :

Ok. Here is something a little out there, but the spirit has hit me…I suggest St. Martin’s Dog Park, in honor of Saint Martin de Porres, the first Black saint in the Americas. Born in 1579 in Peru, he grew up in poverty. He learned medicine and was known for his care of the sick and spectacular cures. He also set up a shelter for stray cats and dogs and nursed them back to health.

De Porres was the illegitimate son of a Spanish nobleman and a young freed Black slave and grew up in poverty. Yet he studied medicine, and used his knowledge to assist the poor, as well as dogs and cats. It is a wonderful story.
posted by bill at October 10, 2007 7:14 pm :

that is some obscure stuff. been watching jeopardy? maybe something a little more contemporary. how abt this “richard petty dog park”. most everyone knows the story of richard petty not winning a race cause he crashed to miss a dog in the road
posted by Laura Daab at October 10, 2007 9:19 pm :

That’s what I love about this site. It goes from the ridiculous to the absurd and vice versa!
posted by C at October 11, 2007 9:11 am :

Richard Petty’s name will be on nothing I am a part of. And I will leave it at that.

I do like CHIPP though.
posted by Church Hill Resident at October 11, 2007 12:08 pm :

Rover Park - but I like Church Hill Dog Park, too
posted by VP at October 11, 2007 2:42 pm :

“Poochincha Park” -> Chimborazo is the highest peak in Ecuador.(Its summit is the point on the surface farthest from the center of the Earth;2.1 km farther than the summit of Everest) Ecuador also has the world’s highest active volcano in Pichincha. In keeping with the origin of Chimborazo with the connection to dogs, you get “Poochincha”
posted by stephen at October 11, 2007 3:42 pm :

Personally, I think some of the suggested acronymns are obscure in themselves. I prefer something that’s straight forward. I vote for Church Hill Dog Park
posted by DLH at October 11, 2007 5:28 pm :

How about “Barking Lot”?
posted by chuck amok at October 12, 2007 9:20 am :

How about Historic Hill Hound Park?
posted by Chimbo dog owner at October 12, 2007 11:42 am :

High on the Dog ?
posted by Nacho at October 12, 2007 2:09 pm :

“The Mine Field”
posted by john_m at October 12, 2007 2:14 pm :

“The Mine Field”

nice
posted by James at October 12, 2007 4:31 pm :

I like the “The Mine Field”
posted by Petersburg People’s News » Funny - Petersburg, Virginia at October 12, 2007 6:21 pm :

[...] recent posts/threads among the ‘hoodblogs that are certainly entertaining/interesting: a name for doggy park? and porn and pancake comes to Chesterfield. Some folks just have a way with words… Posted at [...]
posted by antone b at October 12, 2007 7:29 pm :

how about the { doggy lot in churchhill}
posted by Holly at October 12, 2007 11:51 pm :

The Church Hill Bark Park - “It’s where our pooch run naked”

Yea Yea its late. I do agree with having Church Hill in the name some how.
posted by E at October 13, 2007 11:42 am :

Paws and People
posted by j at October 13, 2007 3:01 pm :

“Barkham Asylum for the Canine Insane“
posted by Heather at October 14, 2007 7:57 pm :

I liked K9 Chimboree, CHIP and CHill. I definately think that the name should automatically let people know that it is in Church Hill and not some other random neighborhood.
posted by Brenda P at October 15, 2007 9:40 am :

At the entrance of a dog park in NYC:

No dogs without people,
No people without dogs.

Don’t recall the name of the park; it was that sign that made me chuckle.

Also, I recall that that park has a double-gate system, so that piles of dogs don’t make a run for the border if someone were to dawdle in getting a gate closed. Struck me as a smart detail, so I thought I’d share.
posted by Chimbo Animal Lover at October 15, 2007 5:48 pm :

Church Hill Bark Park - that’s cute!
posted by Norma at October 16, 2007 3:01 pm :

How about The Paws Park For Pets? After all we have “The Mews”!
posted by C at October 17, 2007 11:11 am :

Brenda P:

Out model will be similar to Barker’s Field which is in the West End on the other side of Maymont Park in Dogwood Dell. They have a double gate system and ultimately will have a triple gate systems for trash and another double gate system to/from the small dog area.

We’ll be hashing out rules, too, in the coming months and the ones you listed have definite plans to be a part of them.

To everyone else:

The name suggestions have been great! We plan to meet again at the beginning of November to narrow the choices down a bit and of course come up with some logo ideas.

Thanks for all your help!
posted by Chimbo Dog Owner at October 17, 2007 12:10 pm :

“High on the Dog, Church Hill Pet Park” would lend itself readily to branding. I can already envision a logo for t-shirts.

Of course, I will not share this vision until I am promised a percentage of the royalties.
posted by mike at October 17, 2007 2:02 pm :

I haven’t been down to lower Chimbo before. Does anyone know if there is a water source (working or not) down there? Old drinking fountains, etc…
posted by tiny at October 17, 2007 3:00 pm :

There is an old spring at the bottom of the hill. It is on the eastern side of the hill and is marked with a stone marker. It was used by residents up until modern days, but last I looked, it was still running.
posted by Celeste at October 17, 2007 8:28 pm :

Mike, yes there is a sort of water source. It’s a spring. which was marked ‘not for drinking water’ a number of years ago - at least ten years, probably more. However, last time I was there, the spring still put water out…caused puddles, etc. - I have not been down there in at least two years. I’ve buried two cats down there (one in 2000, one in 2003) and know of several folks who have buried pets down there. Until Gaston caused the sinkhole, it was a little overgrown but still walkable - I’m not so sure now, it’s gotten really overgrown. The city definitely does not keep it up. Five or six years ago, someone was mowing down there but I think it was a neighbor.
posted by C at October 18, 2007 11:41 am :

There is a water source other than that of the spring in the form of a spigot near one of the shelters already in place. The city is going to check into that and make it functional if need be. They are also going to fix up the existing roads there and re-string the lights so they work, too.

We need to start raising money for a fence now so we can have one up by spring. The park will be completed in stages so start spreading the word that money is in high demand! I don’t feel comfortable giving out an address via the WWW so email us personally at chimbodogs@hotmail.com for specifics please. Once we get a name and logo, John has offered to put a Paypal link on CHPN for ease in relinquishing your hard earned cash.

And anyone interested in hosting any kind of fundraiser is warmly and excitedly welcomed (even if only for the 1 event)!
posted by C at October 18, 2007 11:47 am :

And about the spring: from what they said they will be making that fully functional, too, since there will be lots of people visiting the park once it is fenced in and as they said, “It should just be working by now.”

All these changes will be happening over a matter of months so hopefully by spring will see great improvements.
posted by j at October 18, 2007 1:32 pm :

I just hope chain link fencing is not used. Wood is out of the question for safety reasons. You have to be able to see through it so people can’t hide down there. But they do make nice aluminum fencing that resembles wrought iron. It is not that expensive and aluminum will never rust.

Also, a good way to raise money for the dog park would be to sell homemade dog treats. We could ask local businesses to sell them. They would benefit too by having customers enter their establishments.
posted by stephen at October 19, 2007 9:07 am :

I agree that chain link fencing should be avoided. I cannot wait to see this thing get started. I will keep an eye out for the Paypal link. As far as a name, my vote is still split between Church Hill Dog Park or Church Hill Bark Park.
posted by M at October 20, 2007 4:02 pm :

Church Hill Dog Park! straightforward, nothing cheesy.
posted by Newman at October 21, 2007 8:10 pm :

I vote for Chimbo Dog Park!
posted by C at October 22, 2007 1:46 pm :

We think Church Hill Dog Park is going to win as it can be used as CHDP and not be another occlusive acronym. And if someone gets crafty enough with the invention of a logo it will fit nicely.

Split rail fencing will be used with wire on the inside (and not chicken wire either) because it fits the surroundings and that’s what the city told us they would like to see down there.

Again, anyone who wants to head up a fundraiser or 2 please do (and let me know about it so I can keep track). We won’t object if you would like to do some fundraising then step back from the efforts as getting us some loot will be enough help in itself.
posted by archie bunker at October 22, 2007 2:12 pm :

Do we have an estimate for how much money is needed?
posted by C at October 22, 2007 2:41 pm :

V’s husband is following up with the city to determine pricing for the fence but ideally it would be great if someone would take charge and solicit Southern States, Harper’s Hardware, Home Depot, Lowe’s and the like for fencing donations.

All in all we’re guessing at a minimum of $10,000 to get us started. Which is why I’m pushing the fundraising issue, : ).
posted by archie bunker at October 22, 2007 4:25 pm :

$10,000? Wow. For what? Fencing? That’s a lot of fencing.
posted by C at October 23, 2007 4:17 pm :

Our goal to get started is $10K, not necessarily the price of the fence by itself.
posted by Chimbo Dog Owner at October 26, 2007 1:32 pm :

I admit to being only involved in this on the periphery, but I have heard, through various sources, a lot of fussing about what the park should be. That it should not have chain link fencing because that is ugly. That it should have separate areas for different sized dogs. Etc.

It suddenly hit me last night that a lot of people are making demands of the dog park without actually ponying up any money to shape how it winds up. It has already been exiled to the foot of Chimborazo park so as to be out of the way of everybody (the same everybodys who NEVER USE THE PARK). Now it has to be aesthetically pleasing to these people too? How do they get veto power over the dog park?

I am all for building the best park possible, and when it comes time I will give both money and sweat to build it. But I can accept that there are certain limitations to what can be built. And unless you are willing to make a contribution to the effort, you should stop grousing about it.
posted by beth at October 26, 2007 1:47 pm :

Are people meeting on the park, or is the entire planning taking place on this blog?

People should certainly be allowed to “grouse” on this blog. But the folks who want to participate in the decisions should attend some meeting or something outside of this blog.
posted by j at October 26, 2007 2:16 pm :

The fact that it is planned for a public park should give every taxpayer a right to comment whether they ever plan on using the dog park or not. But yes it cetainly would be more effective to make comments at a meeting.
posted by stephen at October 26, 2007 3:30 pm :

Well said, J.
posted by bill at October 26, 2007 4:05 pm :

if the dog park is on city property maybe you need the consent of the city so you might want to fit your plans including a name to get that consent
posted by Celeste at October 26, 2007 8:10 pm :

Bill - Last I heard, Chimborazo Park is owned by the federal government but maintained by the City of Richmond. I rather doubt that ownership has changed, I think we’d have heard about it.

The biggest complaint I’ve got with ALL the parks up here is that the J. Fulmer Bright Foundation spent somewhere in the area of 8-10 MILLION dollars (if memory serves me right) to enhance the entire park system, but the city has failed to maintain the parks.

For those who don’t remember or were not up here, J. Fulmer Bright was a mayor of Richmond way back in the 1930’s or so (and NO I am not that old!). He died and left a trust to the city for the “Patrick Henry Park System.” The city sort of lost track of the money in the trust, but they didn’t spend it - they just forgot about it. So, it gained interest and gained interest - until some time in the 1980s or 1990s, when they ‘found’ it. By that time, the trust was worth about 8 or 10 million dollars. The city ended up with a J. Fulmer Bright Foundation committee, which had to (among other things) figure out just what was/is the “Patrick Henry Park System.” The final decision was it included Chimborazo Park, Libby Hill Park, Jefferson Park, Patrick Henry Park (the postage stamp park in front of St. John’s Church on the north side of Broad), and I think it finally included Great Shiplock Park which is down off of Dock Street (I may stand corrected on that one).

They spent the millions of dollars on enhancements to every one of those parks, including closing Chimborazo to traffic - but over the years, vandals broke the locks and allowed traffic to drive thru Chimbo Park, including people who leave chicken bones among other things. Chimbo is not now what it was in the 1980s when drug dealing was rampant -but it also is not nearly as nice as it was after the updates.

I guess my final point is, not only should the dog park people lobby the city (and I’ve buried two cats down there who would not appreciate a dog park, but I’ve also had a dog and appreciate dogs so I’m supportive of the idea) but I think the dog park folks should lobby the city on behalf of ALL the parks up here which are not being maintained!

Sorry for being long winded. More wine for my whine….
posted by bill at October 27, 2007 11:12 am :

celeste, i think you are right abt the feds owning the place. with all of the vacant lots around it seems that someone could contribute a parcel to get a dog park. maybe get the echo harbor and marina development to profer a dog park. that should solve the land and money obstacles.
posted by Celeste at October 27, 2007 11:33 am :

Bill, actually, if the feds do own it there’s still no reason the city couldn’t let a dog park go in there, it could be considered part of their maintenance agreement with the feds. I don’t like echo harbor so am not really crazy about that being part of their profers, but that’s another idea, too.

This is really a funny conversation since neither you nor I own a dog!
posted by bill at October 27, 2007 12:25 pm :

celeste, you know that no one owns a dog. the dog owns you. i think the dogs are demanding the dog park, and they should have one.
posted by Celeste at October 27, 2007 3:35 pm :

LOL, as a former dog owner, totally agree. no argument there!
posted by Johnny Z at October 29, 2007 9:25 pm :

Chim Bow Wow
posted by annen at October 30, 2007 3:26 pm :

Chimborazo Visitor’s Center and Medical Musuem plus the small piece of land surrounding it is federally-owned and part of the Richmond National Battlefield Park system. The rest of the land (upper and lower areas) is Chimborazo Park. Chimborazo Park is owned by the city.
posted by Nacho at October 31, 2007 12:17 pm :

How about the dog owners paying for the land instead of begging? You know, if it is that important, then put your money where your muzzle is.
posted by Some guy on Cedar at October 31, 2007 12:24 pm :

I don’t get it, who’s begging? Just some folks suggesting/organizing something that would be of benefit to people in the area, in a section of a very large public park.
posted by annen at October 31, 2007 12:51 pm :

This weekend there were mountain bike races in the upper and lower areas of Chimborazo Park. People also use the pavillions in the lower level for cook-outs and family gatherings.
A doggy park would eliminate these activities. There has to be a better location.
posted by mike at October 31, 2007 1:38 pm :

Nacho:

Who do you think is going to be donating anyway? Maybe us dog owners???

Thanks for the productive input.
posted by tiny at October 31, 2007 2:16 pm :

All this because of dogs running off leash! I truly hope a location is found and a dog park is built. The needs of the dog owners need to be balanced with the rest of the community, and I was hopeful progress was being made.
posted by Some guy on Cedar at October 31, 2007 3:22 pm :

“This weekend there were mountain bike races in the upper and lower areas of Chimborazo Park…..
A doggy park would eliminate these activities.”

Just fyi,
4th of July, and other times that there are events in the park (Arts in The Park, etc.), the dog park in the Fan Area is closed. The dog owners who go there respect it and stay away. Not that hard to manage if people (dog & non-dog owners) are willing to compromise a little.

There’s quite a bit of room down there besides the pavilions anyway.
posted by C at October 31, 2007 3:37 pm :

Yes we do meet off this list to discuss the details of the park, how it’s going to get built, where the money is going to come from, etc.

Again I will put our email out for everyone to see: chimbodogs@hotmail.com. We’re meeting again on Monday, November 5th at 7pm at my house (you’ll have to email me for the address). If the group grows bigger, we’ll see if we can meet in the Chimbo House in the park (which is a really awesome meeting spot btw).

We are deciding on the name this go around and how to raise the money needed for the fencing.

THE PRAK IS GOING TO BE IN LOWER CHIMBORAZO from shelter to shelter. The city has already given us the thumbs up, informed us there is already a water source down located at one of the shelters, the city is going to restring the lights and fix the cobblestone road so trucks have easy access to the park in order to pick up trash and drop off wood chips. When all this will happen depends solely on how fast we can get a fence up, which will consist of split railing with heavy wire on the inside per the city’s request.

Once a name is decided upon and someone volunteers their creative gifts to come up with a logo, we’re going to set up a PayPal account so peeps can donate online.

In the meantime, PayPal cannot be our only source of inocming funds so you’ll see us having what I hope to be a plethera of fundraisers throughout the fall, winter and spring months, including a dog wash when the weather gets warm again.

The lower part of Chimborazo is not in a historic district and is owned by the city. It is highly underutilized by regular park goers and people with dogs use it more than anyone I’ve seen thus far. The city wants to open/renovate the shaded part of the park for picnicing and eventual bike/running trails in the future.

So again, if you want to be kept in the know and be more involved in this process, please attend a meeting. Right now they’re being held monthly as we haven’t seen a need for a greater frequency.

Monday, November 5th at 7pm, email chimbodogs@hotmail.com for the address.

And please leave your beloved 4-legged kids at home, :).

(And tiny, this was actually something we have been toying with for a while now; V made the call and I’ve got the time for follow-up so there you have it. We actually thought we’d have to fight a lot harder than we didn’t.)
posted by Chimbo Dog Owner at October 31, 2007 3:40 pm :

‘People also use the pavillions in the lower level for cook-outs and family gatherings.
”

Have you ever actually seen a cook out there? I walk through the park almost daily and have never seen anything other than the occasional wino sleeping on the benches of the shelters in lower Chimborazo. And they do not even go down there too often. I have no qualms about displacing them.

By the way, according to the city, it is illegal to cookout in the park anyway.
posted by tiny at October 31, 2007 3:45 pm :

I am so glad that a positive resolution to this issue has been put into motion, and we have this blog to thank!
posted by Church Hill People’s News » Church Hill Dog Park - Richmond, Virginia at November 9, 2007 4:05 pm :

[...] official: the nascent doggy park for Chimborazo will be called the Church Hill Dog Park. There were a lot of creative suggestions but none of them struck the committee as “The Name.” Now that this has been set, the [...]

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