About the coalition

Our mission

The Chicago Dog Park Coalition connects the people behind Chicago's Dog Friendly Areas to share resources and advocate collectively for the betterment of dog parks citywide.

Chicago's dog parks run on volunteer effort. At each of the city's 33 Dog Friendly Areas, neighbors organize the cleanups, raise the money, plan the events, and chase the repairs. The coalition's job is to put those neighbors in touch with each other across the city.

Parks here face the same problems and solve them separately. A park that has fixed its drainage, found a surface that holds up, or run a fundraiser that worked holds knowledge every other park can use, and the coalition moves that knowledge between parks.

The coalition also gives parks a way to act together: when many parks want the same improvement, it carries the request forward, backed by dog park users across Chicago.

Our vision

We are working toward a Chicago where:

• every dog park has an active, connected community of volunteers behind it;
• knowledge and resources move freely between parks;
• dog park users have a collective voice in the decisions that shape their parks; and
• every neighborhood has a dog park worth being proud of.

How we work

The coalition is independent and volunteer-run. Each park keeps its own leadership and its own character, and members decide together which priorities the coalition takes up.

Membership is free and open to anyone who cares about Chicago's dog parks. Signing up puts you in reach of volunteers citywide and adds your voice to every request the coalition makes. Bring your park, or bring your dog.