Letter from the President

Hey Inwoofers,

This past week, I’ve been thinking a lot about what drew me to Homer’s Run and Inwoof, what convinced me to participate in the clean-ups, what made me volunteer to become Vice-President last year...essentially, what got me to this place as your new President. The answer ends up being community. Inwoof as an organization is an example of what makes Inwood so special: its people and the bond they make as neighbors and friends.

When I think of the Run, I think of the time complete strangers walked a woman home who had gotten bit and cared for her; people were introducing themselves on the way.

I think of how a group of folks moved the very heavy picnic table several feet to replace chicks that kept falling out of their nest and into the middle of the Run.

I think of how many people rallied when a member found an abandoned dog in the Run late at night; that dog now has a great new forever home.

I think of how people come to the Run with questions, concerns, and problems and the expertise of its members literally improves lives.

Though we know dogs are the best creatures ever, our community is built by people. People whose only connection is a love of dogs and a desire to have a clean, safe space for both dogs and humans to commune.

As I start my tenure as President, I’m going to rely on community - our community - to make Homer’s a true embodiment of what makes Inwood great.

The new Board - which includes Vice-President Traci DiGesu, Treasurer Rebecca Klein, and Parks Liaison Dee Schmidt - have great ideas for improving the Run and raising the funds for those improvements. But there is absolutely no way we can do ourselves. The initial plan is to establish Task Forces: groups of people who want to use their skills and/or interests to make Homer’s really wonderful. Some of those Task Forces include:
- Social Media and Marketing
- Building and Lands
- Special Events

More information will be coming in the coming weeks. If you’re interested, please reach out to any of us. The more people who participate, the easier the workload. And the better the Run.

Take care,
Lauren (Cal’s mom)

Volunteers Needed for the Inwoof Spring Fundraiser Weekends: Apr. 27, May 4, and May 11

Starting on April 27th, and for the next two Saturdays, we are in need of 1-2 volunteers to help (wo)man our table at the Inwood Greenmarket. There will be two shifts each Saturday: 9-11:30am and 11:30am-2pm. Please help us raise the necessary funds to keep Homer’s Run clean, safe, and beautiful for another year. If you are available, please fill out the form on the Contact Us page with your availability. We promise…we’ll get back to you!

June Coffee Bark!

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We didn't have a host for this month until Luis and Roxana (Piña) stepped up to help out at the last minute.  With less than 24 hours notice, they provided coffee and a series of delicious home baked goods.  Threats of rain kept attendance down, but when the sun peeked out we had decent attendance by the end.  Thank you again to our lovely hosts for putting out such a great spread on such short notice!

If you would like to host a Coffee Bark! please contact us through the web form or e-mail us at info@inwoof.com.

 

It's My Park/Homer's Run Spring Clean-Up!

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What a day.  We had a great turn-out, with a grand total of 23 people showing up throughout the day!  

 

We also had a visit from our New York City Councilman, Ydanis Rodriguez. 

NYC Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez (left) with Inwoof President Jason McDowell (right). 

NYC Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez (left) with Inwoof President Jason McDowell (right). 

We accomplished a lot, including moving gravel, cleaning up dog waste, replanting the garden, cleaning up the pool and rebuilding its gravel bed, and trimming back the brush on the north end of the run to cut back on mosquitos and other bugs this summer.  Great job everyone, and THREE WOOFS to everyone who turned up to help!

Also make sure to stop into Furry Fiends at 630 W. 207th St. and thank Amine for providing coffee and snacks to our hard workers, and for putting in some labor himself!

If you couldn't make it, please consider donating.  All donations go toward maintenance and equipment for the dog run (Inwoof board members are all volunteers). 
 

Inwoof Fundraiser, 2015.

Greeings Inwoofers, Inwoodites, and anyone else who stumbles across this post.

This year for our fundraiser, Inwoof has set a lofty goal of $4,000.  We've never raised this much before.  I've seen a few eyerolls from those who think we can't do it.  But I think Goethe had it right when he said:

“Dream no small dreams for they have no power to move the hearts of men.”
— Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Why $4,000?  We want to add a Small Dog Run on to the north end of our existing run, quoted by the NYC Parks Borough Crew at $3,450, and we also need a few hundred bucks to cover our annual administrative costs (event permits, tools, repairs, etc).  

Truth is, adding a new, six-foot high fence last year tapped out our savings.  We are starting nearly from scratch here, and we need all the support you can give us.  If your dog enjoys the dog run, this post is for you.  If you or your small dog is afraid of the dog run because of the big dogs, then this post is REALLY for you.

We can do this.  We can build this thing.  But we need your help, your support, and your generosity to get it done.  

With existing funds and last week's fundraiser, we are at 10% of our goal. 90% is a long way to go, but we can do it.  

Please visit our fundraiser table on the Isham Park side of the Greenmarket at Isham St., near the corner of PTW, every Saturday from now until May 16th. Or you can find out how to mail a check or donate with a credit card by clicking here.

I thank you in advance for your generosity.  So do all these furry little pups below!

Best Regards,

Jason McDowell
Boomer & Willow's Human
President, Inwoof

“Dogs are not our whole life. But they make our lives whole.”
— Roger Caras

January Coffee Bark!

Big thanks goes out to Emily and Finn for hosting January's Coffee Bark!  They provided coffee, chocolate milk (that was to put in coffee but I think mostly got drank as chocolate milk), munchkins and bread with a delicious spread. It was a little chilly but we all had a good time, and there was a great turnout for a cold January day. 
 

 Don't miss February's bark on February 7th at 10 am!

Santa Paws 2014

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Santa Paws was a big hit!  You can view the photos on our Flickr page, click here. 

And a special thanks to all who donated their time to help make Santa Paws a success (in no particular order, and not all pictured):

 


Adam Shavulsky, Anne Coburn, Valerie Fullarton, Catherine Campbell, Cody Westgaard, Naomi Fink, Monique Buzzarte, Sarah Elizabeth, Connie Vasquez, Larissa McDowell, Jason McDowell. 

Also, a big THANK YOU to Amine and Furry Fiends for providing doughnuts and coffee!

And of course, last but not least, a BIG THANKS AND A HO HO ARF to the man himself, SANTA PAWS!

 

We Have a New Fence!

Greetings Inwoofers!

Had a chance to hit the dog run this past weekend, and it looks like our new fence is all done! I took a panoramic so you can see the finished product. Check it out!

 

Our new fence is six-feet high, two-feet higher than the original.  This should solve our escaping dog problem, and should lower the risk of stray foul balls from the fields across the path injuring a human or pup using the run. 

And as you know, it has replaced our old four-foot fence, which had many supports that were rusted through, top bars that were broken from people jumping over or sitting on them, and a gate that shifted with the temperature. 

Now time to give thanks where thanks is due.

Our number one, biggest thank you goes out to Iams, without whom this would not have been possible.  The total cost of the fence was more than $14,500 and Iams generously picked up the tab for the first $10,000.  Thank you so much, Iams!  Thank you, thank you, thank you!!

 

Next, we'd like to thank NYC Parks, especially Jennifer Hoppa (Administrator of Northern Manhattan Parks) for helping to organize and approve all of this, and Daniel Mercado and his Borough Crew for putting in all the labor to make it happen before the weather turned too cold.

And last but not least, thank you Inwood and Inwoof members for your generous financial and moral support to make this project happen.  Without you, it would all be for nothing.

I'll leave you now with a video of some of Inwoof's furriest members enjoying the park, enclosed by the new fence.

 

Fence is underway!!

If you stop by the dog run, please pay extra attention to your pups as the crews work to install our fence before the snows fly.  The snow fences have kept dogs in so far, but they are fragile and a hyper dog could easily break through.  Also, if the construction crews ask you to leave the run, please give them your full cooperation.

The Borough Crews have been cruising right along and at this rate should be done in another week or so.  We'll be scheduling a ribbon cutting and celebration once the work is complete. 

 

November Coffee Bark Cancelled Due to Rain

Argh (arf?)!  Foiled again!

Mother nature has decided once again to not cooperate with us.  I think the few of us who turned up in the rain last month learned our lesson about trying to soldier on in bad weather.

Coffee Bark! for November is cancelled.  Host is busy tomorrow so rain date is out, but we may do a special event Coffee Bark! if the fence is done in a timely manner.  We'll see.

Pile on the blankets and snuggle in folks.  It's cold and nasty out there.  Have a great weekend.

Best,

Jason
President, Inwoof