NORWAY — Volunteers at Responsible Pet Care of Oxford Hills have raised about $75,000 toward their goal of purchasing a new facility in Paris they hope will have a dog park, Shirley Boyce, president of the nonprofit organization, said.
“If Responsible Pet Care is successful in purchasing a larger facility, we will have a dog walk there,” she said. The group is looking at a 5,600-square-foot building at 9 Lower Swallow Road. It is listed for $345,000.
A steering group has been studying the possibility of a dog park at Lake Pennesseewassee and Boyce said the group is still interested in putting one there, but they would probably construct a dog park at the new facility first.
In addition to about 100 cats, the shelter on Waterford Road also has three dogs this week. Responsible Pet Care began taking in dogs last year after the Allen Hill Animal Shelter in Oxford closed.
Boyce said a dog park at the shelter makes sense because the animals that need walking are already there and it can be policed better than at the lake. It also has the advantage of allowing people to see the animals ready for adoption.
“It brings people in to see the animals,” she said.
The park would also have a public restroom, she said.
The group has been applying for grants, doing fundraising and using other means to raise the money before the Dec. 1 deadline for their offer on the Paris property.
“There’s still a ways to go,” Boyce said.
Anyone who would like to donate to the facility may mail a check to: Responsible Pet Care of Oxford Hills, P.O. Box 82, Norway, ME 04268.
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