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Jillian Doucet Community Dog park officially unveiled

Sep 10, 2017 | 5:48 PM

The culmination of years of dedication, fundraising, and hard work was celebrated today as the Jillian Doucet Community Dog Park was officially unveiled.

A number of guests – of both the two and four-legged variety – came out to commemorate the occasion.

The Meadow Lake and District Humane Society (MLDHS) had a number of giving volunteers in the community since its inception, and the driving force behind the dog park project has been the organization’s current and long-serving president, Jillian Doucet.

The idea and the fundraising for the project started in 2012, and in the fall of 2015, the park became available for public use. This spring, the board of directors unanimously decided to honour Doucet by naming the space after her. Meadow Lake city council was also unanimous in support of the idea as well.

 

 

Mayor Gary Vidal and Coun. Conrad Read came to the ribbon cutting event. In his comments, Mayor Vidal said he felt fortunate to be able to attend the event for three reasons; to celebrate one of the many public spaces in the city, seeing strong community partnerships culminate to make the idea a reality and excellence in volunteerism.

“We get to celebrate this asset in our community we get to celebrate some great partnerships and some amazing volunteers, one, in particular, being Jillian in this case,” he said.

 

 

Doucet said it was very humbling to be honoured in such a way, and very much appreciates work of a number of fellow volunteers and city officials who came together. She became originally involved with MLDHS after moving to the community in 2005 and adopting her first dog, a Rottweiler named Hope.

“It feels great that the park is finally done,” she said. “It’s been ready for public use, but everything is tied together now with the addition of some enrichment. I hope the community enjoys the space and it was really great to see all the dogs and their owners out today. I hope that that will continue for many years to come.”

 

 
 

kathy.gallant@jpbg.ca  

On Twitter @ReporterKath