Ten communities have been selected to receive $50,000 dog park grants from the Boyd Family Foundation. Nominations and letters of support were submitted through social media.
Winners of the 2020 Knox Neighborhood Dog Park Competition are:
- Corryton/Gibbs
- Fountain City
- Fourth and Gill
- Halls
- Holston Hills
- Karns
- New Harvest Park
- Oakwood/Lincoln
- Powell
- South Knoxville
These winners will now work with the city of Knoxville and Knox County parks departments to find the best location and determine the amenities for each park. The park building process could take up to two years.
More than 300 people nominated their neighborhoods and the dozens who qualified participated in the social engagement period to show why their neighborhood needed a place for their pets to play, according to a statement from the Boyd Foundation.
UT President Randy Boyd said dog parks bring people together and are great for community building.
“We’ve been working for more than a decade to make Knox County and Knoxville the Most Pet Friendly Community in America and this new round of neighborhood dog parks will make our goal a reality.”
With the addition of these 10 dog parks, Knox County will rank No. 1 in dog parks per capita in the nation. Knox County is currently ranked 29th in the nation. Info: knoxdogparks.com. Video announcement here.