It's another first for Union County, and a win for Union County's canine companions. The county is one of 37 statewide winners of the Boyd Foundation's 2018 Dog Park Dash grant, aimed at creating pet friendly spaces throughout Tennessee. Fifty communities applied for the grant.

Union County will receive $25,000 to create a fenced-in dog park in the wooded area at the bottom of Wilson Park, with separate spaces for large and small dogs. Debra Keck of the Union County Mayor's Office said hopefully work on clearing underbrush from the area will begin this fall. Large trees will remain for shade.

Former commissioner for the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development Randy Boyd, who co-chairs the foundation with his wife, visited Wilson Park Aug. 20, to present a check for the grant. Mayor Mike Williams welcomed Boyd and thanked him for the grant.

"It will help our community in a progressive way," said Williams. "(Boyd) does things that bring communities together."

Boyd said the idea for a Tennessee-specific dog park grant came from "an insult." The PetSafe founder attended a gala event 10 years ago for PetSafe Charities in which the keynote speaker named "backwaters in animal welfare." Along with Mississippi and Louisiana, the speaker named Tennessee.

"I felt like every head in the room turned and looked at me," Boyd said.

In response, the Boyds set out on a mission to make Tennessee "the most pet-friendly state in America."

Boyd said the foundation has committed to giving a total of $1 million each year for three years to communities building or improving dog parks. While dog parks give pets a safe place to run off-leash and socialize with other pets, Boyd said they're good for people, too.

"It actually brings people together," he said. "In this world today, so full of division and strife, anything that brings people together is a good thing."

The grand prize winner, Jackson, Tennessee, received $100,000. The other counties and municipalities, spread throughout the state, received $25,000 each.

“Choosing winners for both the $25,000 grants and the $100,000 grand prize was incredibly difficult,” said Boyd. “The Dog Park Dash committee reviewed so many great applications from communities dedicated to making Tennessee the most pet-friendly state in America. We want them all to feel encouraged because they truly did a wonderful job.”

Tammy Rouse of the Union County Humane Society is acting in an advisory role for the Wilson Park dog park project, which will include waste receptacles and a water station. She said the dog park will be useful to pet owners, as she sees more and more people walking their dogs on-leash.

"Twenty years ago, I never would have envisioned this," she said.

Info: www.dogparkdash.com