Because of her efforts in creating the document that caused the park district, the Fountain Hills Town Council and community members to recognize the benefits of an off-leash dog park, Kim Marshburn was recently presented with ADOG’s Lifetime Achievement Award.

The story of the Desert Vista Off-Leash Dog Park

Kim Marshburn’s journey began March 29, 1998, when a meeting was held between concerned dog owners and residents plus a Fountain Hills Parks Commissioner.

The purpose of the meeting was to see what could be done to get the Town of Fountain Hills to establish a permanent dog park of sufficient size for the demographics of the town.

A sense of urgency was created because the Town had recently received a large plot of land from MSCO for a park. The Town Council intended to eliminate early morning off leash use of the Golden Eagle baseball field where many residents let their dogs run free, according to a press release.

A month later the first organized group meeting was held to establish a “dog club” and the name “Association of Dog Owners Groups” (ADOG), was chosen. A set of by-laws for the club was codified and a mission statement was also written at this time.

To help justify land for a dedicated dog park, Marshburn volunteered to prepare a research report on dog parks.

This was an ideal job for her since, according to Marshburn, her philosophy was “one person with focused vision and goals can accomplish anything,” the release said.

Since there were no “planned” municipal dog parks in Arizona at the time, Marshburn had nothing to pattern the park after. So, she spent the next few months researching towns with dog parks and ended up talking with park superintendents in 52 towns around the country.

Marshburn wanted to know what they did right or wrong when they planned the park, what were the benefits received from a park, what were their detractors, what would they do differently if they built it today and what other suggestions they might have now.

The culmination of all this work was included in a detailed white paper entitled, “Report on Off-Leash Recreational Facility (OLRF) for Fountain Hills,” that was delivered at the June 1998 Parks and Recreation meeting.

The report was reviewed and endorsed by the parks commissioners and was recommended to the Town Council for the establishment of a permanent OLRF in Fountain Hills.

From the period of April through September of 1998, a major controversy brewed between those favoring the establishment of a dog park and those Fountain Hills residents who were adamantly opposed to it, the release continued. Marshburn spent this time lobbying the various groups who were opposed to the park, including the Fountain Hills Times Independent.

In the end, Town Council voted overwhelmingly on September 14, 1998, to establish a three-and-a-half-acre facility designated as, “Desert Vista Off-Leash Recreational Facility.”

“It is Kim Marshburn whom we have to thank for her efforts in bringing her dream of an off-leash dog park into the reality that we now all enjoy,” the press release continued.

Other communities around the state and throughout the country have modeled their parks based on information contained in the report, the release added. The National Parks and Recreation Association invited Marshburn to present her paper at its annual meeting.

A staple among dog owners in Fountain Hills and the surrounding areas, ADOG is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization whose primary purpose is to improve the lives of canine companions at home and at play, and to engage the community at large through better communication with the Town of Fountain Hills and neighbors.

Recently ADOG was named the “Official Liaison” between the Desert Vista Off-Leash Dog Park and the Town of Fountain Hills.