Emmy Award-Winner Hopes to Win One for the Dogs

The committee behind the effort to bring a dog park to Attleboro is one step closer to making it a reality, members said during a meeting at the Attleboro Public Library Wednesday night. 

A huge effort has been under way by the committee and members of the community to raise enough money for the park, which is slated to be built on open land near the Attleboro Animal Shelter on Pond Street. 

One effort included, a contest where the residents voted for their community to have a chance to win $100,000 to be used toward the creation of a dog park. The voting ended Wednesday, June 1.  

Committeee member, Raymond Cord had great news to share with other members. Cord said was pretty certain that Attleboro had reached the top 25 percent, a first step in the contest.

The committee is hopeful that Emmy Award Winning videographer Tristan Rudat will help them win the second level of the contest. Rudat, who owns TRS Audio and Video Productions, has agreed to create a a two-minute video for the contest. Rudat, who lives in Attleboro, has worked on videos that included singer/actor Justin Timberlake and the bands Motley Crue and Rascal Flatts. His "technical camera work" is what won Rudat his Emmy Awards. 

Once complete, the video will be posted on the Bark for Your Park website and the community will be encouraged to vote for their favorite video. The video that receives the most votes wins. 

Rudat said he plans to get a lot of footage  at the upcoming Mutt March at Capron Park on June 12. How can the public get involved? The Dog Park Committee is holding a casting call for all dogs and owners. Rudat must act fast as the finished video must be uploaded by July 13.

Committee Chairperson, Roberta Collins said the proposed dog park would be a great benefit to the city. The park would be a meeting place for socialization, which is good to promote a non-aggressive pet.

Collins started this project in 2007 because of the love she has for her dog and because she would like her dog and others' dogs to have a place to run and play. So far, the committee has raised nearly $5,000 of their $14,000 goal.

Although the proposed park is getting some attention, they have found more and more residents that were not aware of their effort. In an effort to get the word out. Attleboro Dog Park will have a table set up at thea Friends of Attleboro Animal Shelter (FAAS) event on June 25.

If Attleboro is not the winning community, the amount of national coverage will help get them a lot closer to their goal, Cord said. "But, $100,000 would just make it so much easier." The committee continues to plan additional fundraisers including a "sell a brick" fundraiser, T-shirt advertisements and a Halloween Mutt March in October.