SEQUIM – The dogs showed the humans how it’s done.
When you go to a gathering, trot up to strangers, introduce yourself, and run around the room, inviting other new friends as you go.
That was easy in Sequim’s freshest party space, the off-leash dog playground at Carrie Blake Park, 202 N. Blake Ave.
Saturday’s grand opening unfolded under a dreary sky, but you wouldn’t have known that from the behavior of some 100 dogs and many more people.
Shortly after 10 a.m., Sequim Mayor Walt Schubert and Dog Park Pals board president David Brown clipped a ceremonial leash, opened the custom-sculpted gate and let a throng of dogs and owners in.
First to enter was Beth McHugh and her standard poodle, Beamer, in a tribute to the man who donated the dog park’s fencing, Sequim contractor Terry Selby.
Selby was too shy to bask in the glory Saturday, so McHugh, his partner, came in his stead, carrying a framed photo of their deceased dog, Casey.
Following her in were dozens of men, women and canines: poodles, pointers, Saint Bernards, a Samoyed and a big batch of bichon frises.
And unlike many people at parties, the dogs knew instantly how to break the ice.
They fetched tennis balls, politely sniffed others – whatever their size and shape differences – and after a while, the humans were laughing and chatting.
“This shows what can be done when you have cooperation between the city and other groups,” said Schubert, who added that Sequim’s Public Works Department contributed 5,000 hours of labor and $415,000 in land, irrigation hardware and installation of what he called “doggie bag stations.”
“Two hundred yards of fill and grass seed,” Schubert added, “were donated by local developers.”
