A fountain for Fido – Foundation donates doggy drinking fountain at Luther Burbank Park
Published 4:39 pm Monday, November 24, 2008
By Ruth Longoria
After a hard day of energetic romping across the grass at Luther Burbank Park — all-out wrestling with his buddies, and fetching tennis balls thrown by an over-zealous master — most any dog is ready to cool off with a nice, cold, refreshing drink of water.
Jill Davis, director of the MacRae Foundation, an understanding pet owner and Island philanthropist, understands that need and just made that objective a little easier for thirsty canines — through the gift of a pet owner and doggie fountain, installed last week at the park.
The shiny, black, double-drink fountain — inscribed with the words “Paws and enjoy the day!” — sits just southeast of the new covered entrance-walkway at the park, a short bounding sprint from the off-leash dog area and the north parking lot.
A second doggie fountain, also donated by Davis and the MacRae Foundation, will be installed this fall at the I-90 Park on the Lid.
“Look at how nice that looks — it’s much nicer than the other doggie fountains we looked at,” said Kristen Bush as Davis’ tiny black poodle, Jetta, took a drink from the new fountain Thursday evening. Bush, executive director of Northwest Parks Foundation Safety Net Program, helped Davis facilitate the fountain donation. Northwest Parks Foundation is a 501(c)3 corporation that allows donors to direct their charitable contributions to a desired park improvement or acquisition project.
The fountains cost about $8,000 each, said Nancy Woo, special events coordinator for Mercer Island Parks and Recreation Department.
“This is a great amenity for our parks, I’m so tickled that Jill’s group made this kind of donation,” Woo said.
The drink stations are dedicated to Jetta, who belongs to Davis and her husband, Dick; and Leo, an Australian cattle dog mix, who belongs to Gus and Leslie Poole, of West Seattle. Leslie Poole, a 1996 Mercer island High School graduate, is Davis’ daughter and also involved with the MacRae Foundation. The family foundation was started by Davis’ mother, Mrs. Robert (Jacqueline) MacRae, of Madison Park, as a way to better the Mercer Island community where Davis has lived for about 35 years.
“When you live in a nice place, you look for ways to contribute and make it a better place because you live there,” Davis said. “We come to the park regularly, several times a week, so this just seemed like a wonderful way to give a donation.”
Davis and the MacRae Foundation previously provided money to the city to fund the Island history movie “Dawn on the Island,” as well as for playground equipment at Mercerdale Park. Earlier this year, Davis said, the foundation also gave a donation to the Milo Foundation, an animal rescue organization in Willits, Calif. (near Berkeley), where the Poole family adopted Leo.
“Each year we do a little different kind of donations,” Davis said. “This seems to be the year of the dog.”
Sidebar: How to donate
To make a donation through Northwest Parks Foundation, go to the Internet Web site: www.nwparks.org.
