City council will be asked Monday to accept a recommendation to officially recognize the new leash free dog park as the 'Strathclair Dog Park.' The recommendation comes from the Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee (PRAC).

City council will be asked Monday to accept a recommendation to officially recognize the new leash free dog park as the 'Strathclair Dog Park.'

The recommendation comes from the Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee (PRAC).

The committee states the name is appropriate, since the leash free dog park is located on land close to the Sault Ste. Marie Humane Society and part of the original Strathclair complex donated to the city by Dr. Alexander Boyd Sinclair.

The effort to establish a community leash free dog park dates back several years.

In 2013, city council approved funding towards construction of a leash free dog park in partnership with a dog owners group called the Local Off Leash Dog Owners Group of Sault Ste. Marie (LOLDOGS).

Dr. Sinclair's family gave permission to use the property as a leash free dog park.

The total cost for construction of the park, which began last summer, comes to $70,000.

$55,000 of that amount is city funding ($45,000 in 2013, another $10,000 in 2014).

The remaining $15,000 comes from fund-raising efforts from LOLDOGS.

An official opening ceremony for the Strathclair Dog Park is scheduled at the site for June 4.

(PHOTO: A dog at a May 2013 LOLDOGS fundraiser. Darren Taylor/SooToday)