Volunteers build 'Fences For Fido'

Martha Nordbusch hates to see a dog on a chain.

Rather than simply complain about it, though, she joined up with an outfit that fixes the problem - Fences For Fido. She's now the outreach coordinator for the statewide nonprofit, which builds fences for dog yards - for free.

"I just went, 'Oh, my gosh, I've gotta do this!'" the Prineville resident said of discovering Fences For Fido. "They fix the problem. It makes everybody happy. It makes the dog happy; it makes the property owner happy; it makes the neighbors happy."

On Saturday, a crew of nine volunteers was busy at a residence at a home in Squaw Creek Canyon Estates, where a boxer-pitbull mix had been kept on an able runner - and occasionally ran at large.

"She's beautiful," Nordbusch said of the dog.

The dog now has a nice, chain-link-fenced yard, replete with an insulated doghouse. All at no charge to the dog's owner. That's how Fences For Fido works. There's no financial threshold.

"All you have to do is have a dog that meets our qualifications," Nordbusch said.

Dogs on a chain or runner qualify, as do dogs who are confined to a small kennel.

Referrals come from all over. Sometimes a resident requests a fence; sometimes police responding to a nuisance dog call make a recommendation. If you know of a dog that's on a chain, you can let Fences For Fido know and their volunteers will take the initiative to approach the dog owner with a proposal. Sometimes they're rebuffed initially, but most homeowners come around quickly to the idea of a dog fence with no cost and no strings attached.

It can take a bit of time to get materials together and organize a work party.

"This summer we were two months out," Nordbusch said. "But now we're down to about three-weeks wait time."

All the materials are acquired through donation - and manning donation tables at events is a way to volunteer if you don't want to build fences.

For more information on Fences For Fido, visit www.fencesforfido.org. You can request a fence though an online application or offer to volunteer.

Author Bio

Jim Cornelius, Editor in Chief

Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.

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