• By Rebecca Woodcock & Chuck Houska
• Posted Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Sold Out – Dog-Gone Good-Time Party

Starting with a donation of $11,000 from Vulcan Materials to help pay for a parking lot and followed by a $30,000 grant from The Winston Salem Foundation and another donation of $9,200 from the Village of Clemmons, the Dog Park at Tanglewood is well on its way to becoming a reality in 2012.

The Dog Park at Tanglewood is a joint effort between the Forsyth Humane Society and Forsyth County. The Forsyth County Commissioners passed a formal resolution in July that gave the group until 2012 to complete the project and donate it back to Forsyth County’s Tanglewood Park. The Davie County Humane Society has also endorsed the project and is helping the group raise the approximately $150,000 needed to build the park.

On Friday, January 20, the Dog Park at Tanglewood Committee will hold an event titled “A Dog-Gone Good-Time Party” at WinMock. The 400-person event has already sold out. According to Beth Mack, the event’s organizer, the event will be full of fun and surprises. “We will have between 10-15 raffle baskets that will each have a value of $500-$1,000,” said Mack. Ticket holders can purchase a sheet of tickets for $20 each or three sheets for $50. Each sheet will have 25 tickets, and people can drop their tickets in the baskets containing the gifts that they want to win. Throughout the evening, a winning ticket will be drawn from each basket. “With the donations that we are receiving from the business community, we expect our raffle will be quite popular,” said Mack, and added, “if everyone would bring an extra $20 to the event for raffle tickets we could add another $8,000 towards the construction to build the dog park.”

“Full Moon Oyster Bar, Big Shotz, Chang Thai, Cimarron, Classics Sports Bar and Time to Eat restaurant will be supplying the food, and RayLen Vineyards and Winery along with Foothills Brewery are supplying the beverages. We’re setting the mood for everyone to have a dog-gone good-time,” said Ms. Mack.

Susan Joy Neely, as well as the rest of the dog park group, has been busy getting the raffle prizes collected as well as the items for the “live” auction. “If a business owner wants to get involved with our event, they can e-mail me and I’ll get in touch with them,” said Ms. Neely. “We are extremely grateful to Salem Glen Country Club for making a donation of a golf and pool membership valued at $3,000,” said Neely. That item along with a handmade wall quilt made by Lewisville resident, Ana Reich will be auctioned off that evening.

Chuck Houska, a member of the Dog Park Committee said that he is hoping the event will raise $30,000. “Through the generosity of WinMock at Kinderton, Truliant Federal Credit Union, local veterinarians, kennels, restaurants, and the business community, we expect to reach that goal,” said Houska. “This event should put us over $100,000. With the buzz that our committee members are generating in the community, I’m expecting we’ll have the money needed by the end of February. I know that I’m being optimistic, but I also know that the community wants to see this dog park built,” said Houska.

Frank Samuelson, another Dog Park Committee member, has been working on a memorial brick program that will begin at the January 20th event and continue all the way up until the time the park is built. “We will be selling engraved bricks that will be put in near the sidewalk at the entry gate to the dog park. The bricks will be sold for $125 each to individuals that want to pay tribute to a pet. We will have the order form up on our website right before the WinMock event,” said Samuelson. People interested in purchasing a brick for the park will be able to download the form, complete it, and mail it back, along with a check to the Dog Park at Tanglewood. Frank Samuelson expects the brick sales to raise another $10,000 for the park.

If you would like to help or make a donation to the Dog Park at Tanglewood, you can go to the group’s website at www.DogParkatTanglewood.org or you can follow the group’s efforts via Facebook at Facebook.com/DogParkatTanglewood. Tax-deductible donations can be made directly through The Winston-Salem Foundation at wsfoundation.org or through a link at the dog park’s website.

For further information regarding the Dog Park at Tanglewood, please contact Chuck Houska at 336-419-6251.