MATTAPOISETT – Dogs and their owners strolled through Mattapoisett on Saturday, Aug. 24, as part of a fundraiser. The project is part of a years-long effort to create a recreational area for dogs in Mattapoisett.

The annual dog walk-a-thon raised money for a future dog park in Mattapoisett. The endeavor began as an idea event organizer Freemin Bauer had for an Eagle Scout project in 2016.

During the fundraiser, dog owners donated $20 and then ran a half-mile or full-mile circuit that started and ended at Center School.

And in total, Bauer said, about $16,000 was raised, enough to apply for a $100,000 grant from the Stanton Foundation, which provides grants for dog parks in Massachusetts.

“My main task right now is to get the land,” Bauer said.

A portion of the Holy Ghost Grounds on Park Street was identified as a possible site for the park.

Earlier this year, the results of a survey on possible uses of the site were published by the Holy Ghost Reuse Committee, of which Bauer is a member.

According to the data, the idea of ​​a dog park on the site was almost as controversial as the proposal for pickleball courts. Bauer said the idea won the poll by just one vote.

“A lot has to happen for this to happen,” said Jodi Bauer, a member of the Mattapoisett Select Board and mother of Freemin Bauer.

A conceptual design of the dog park divides the space into three fenced areas – for small, large and older dogs – with security entrances to prevent dogs from charging in or out.

The park will be oval in shape to limit the number of corners where dogs could get stuck, which Bauer said would lead to dog fights.

He said at least one hectare of fenced area was needed.

In the planned park, people could possibly donate benches or bricks for a memorial wall in the dogs’ names, according to Bauer.

And if the park were located on Holy Spirit property, it could tap water there, allowing for special drinking fountains for dogs.

Whether at Holy Ghost Grounds or elsewhere, Bauer said, “there will be 100 percent certainty that a dog park will be built in Mattapoisett.”

According to Jodi Bauer, there are about 1,600 dogs in Mattapoisett.

“Let’s at least give them a place to run around,” said Freemin Bauer.

With a dog park, there would be less dog poop in the city, more happy dogs and fewer fights between them, Bauer said.

It should serve as a “place of socialization” for the animals, says Bauer.

“That’s why we need a dog park,” Bauer said. “They make so many friends.”