About Us
Our dog park is under the stewardship of Friends of Western Gateway Dog Park, a non-profit 501(c)3 California corporation. It is comprised entirely of volunteers who have created and continue to maintain an enjoyable meeting place for pets and their owners in and around Penn Valley.
In 2008, the Western Gateway Park and Recreation District approved plans to build a dog park on the abandoned horse arena grounds inside Western Gateway Park. Major funding for those capital improvements was received from the Bear Yuba Land Trust (Al Salter Fund for Animals) and the McBeth Foundation.
We have a memorandum of understanding with the Western Gateway Park Board to maintain everything that is part of the dog park, and they (WG Park Board) provide dog waste bags, handle trash removal, and maintain the restroom facility. They also help with other matters where possible.
We don't receive direct funding through county taxes, so future improvements and maintenance rely on volunteer help, association memberships, and private donations. That is why we need your annual support!
If you enjoy coming here, please tell your friends. We always like to see new faces and happy dogs!
Tom Hartnett
President
"Smudge" 120lb. Catahoula
I grew up in Colorado, came to CA for college, then the Army in Virginia, and back to CA for lord knows how many years. Mostly in So Cal and the Bay Area with multiple computer-related companies. I moved back to CO for 16 years on a farm – what a wonderful life and amazing people. I had lots of dogs and trucks. I can’t say enough good things about that life. We returned to CA in 2021. Became involved with the dog park in Jan 2023 and enjoy the team we have immensely. My wife and I are currently without dogs, but it doesn’t mean we don’t love them, maybe in the future. If you would care to participate with the dog park team, give us a shout. Lots of room for helpers.
Nan Spier
Secretary
Born and raised in Indiana, Nan has a Bachelor's degree from Hanover College and a Master's Degree in Education from San Jose State. After teaching high school math in Indiana, she moved to Silicon Valley where teaching jobs were difficult to find so she landed temporary jobs until finding a new niche in the computer industry. For 25 years, she taught CAD, PC and Mac classes at Lockheed, Oracle, Annuncio (startup), and Microsoft. She designed and developed computer-aided courseware and wrote multiple manuals and job aids as an Instructional Designer. Always having a love for animals, Nan showed horses at an early age and always had dogs. She is an advocate for giving the unwanted a second chance at life. She's only had a gap of about four months in her life without some kind of loving tail in the house.
Married for 23 years, Bob and Nan live comfortably in Penn Valley with their two dogs, play pickleball, travel, and scrapbook. Nan makes over 120 Christmas cards by hand every year and scrapebooks all of their travel adventures. She has been to every state inb the US and five continents. She loves data, numbers, facts (left brain) yet she writes our creative newsletter with whimsy (right brain). With her sports, her brain calculates angles and speed and right brain gets her into the rhythm of the game. So as secretary of the WGDP board, her career as an instructional designer is her secret sauce for clear organization, but the equal left-brain-right brain symphony allows simplicity or complexity when it comes to communication.
Natalie Hayden
Board Member
Fundraising
I was born in Yuba City CA, and was raised with my 5 sisters just outside of Beale Air force Base, where my dad served for 21 years. When I was a senior in high school, we moved down to Santa Maria where I spent a few years enjoying Pismo Beach, before spreading my wings and moving to Sacramento. There I met my amazing husband Todd, who brought me to Grass Valley where he and his family have lived for 5 generations. I fell in love with the community, rivers, culture, and landscape immediately. After 5 years of working locally, I had the incredible opportunity to travel and backpack across New Zealand for 3 months. What an experience! I have always been involved with volunteer work from T.I.P. as a teenager, to NAMI in my early 20’s, to church volunteer work throughout my life. It is an absolute pleasure to be surrounded by good humans making a difference in the world. As a stay at home mom to my two beautiful kids now, we spend our days “adventuring” around Nevada County, and bringing our two pups along for the ride too!
Inde Coggins
Web/Social Media
"Jack & Bubba"
Giant Lap Dogs
Hi Dog Park Friends! I grew up here in Nevada County, so many of you know me as one of those "Bryant" kids. After almost 20 years in the restaurant business in Hawaii, Jerry, my talented husband and I returned home. We wanted to be closer to family and get back to our country roots. We have a small homestead in Penn Valley where we harvest a fruit tree orchard and veggie garden. We are hobby bee keepers with a small apiary & a few stings to show for it. In 2022 Jack (yellow lab) was on the euthanization list at nearby county pound. Look at that face, it was time to stop grieving the loss of our former pound pup of 16 years and adopt. In 2024 we were a Sammies Friends "foster fail" and our sweet Bubba Bear (black lab'ish) choose us for his furever family. Being part of the Dog Park team gives us an opportunity to give back to our community and work with some amazing "get it done" people. Jack & Bubba love to play with friends. You'll hear us at the park often (Bubba is a talker with lots to say), and Jack is goof ball always up to playing and wrestling. See you there!
Board Meetings
Board Meetings are normally held on the 3rd Wednesday of the month at Buttermakers Cottage. The date will be posted on the bulletin board and our facebook page beforehand. Everyone welcome!
If you want to attend a meeting and have a request or concern for the agenda, please include that information on our Contact page to allow time for discussion during the meeting. Thank you.
Shauneen Deschaine
Treasurer
"Chase" & "Riley"
I am a Nevada County native, through and through, I was born and raised here. I graduated from Nevada Union High School and from Sierra College with three associate’s degrees in Business Administration, Accounting, and Social and Behavioral Sciences. I also have a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration Management from Western Governor’s University. I have worked for Nevada County for the past 12 years and am currently the Assistant Treasurer- Tax Collector. Prior to my time working for the County, I worked in banking for nine years. I currently live on a small, two-acre homestead in Rough and Ready with four dogs, two cats, 18 chickens and a large vegetable garden. My dogs run the gambit in sizes- Chase is a 15-year-old yellow lab, Tank is a three-year-old Frenchie, Tallulah, is a seven-month-old Frenchie, and Riley is a four(?) year old Chihuahua. Uno and Dos are my two kitties. All of them are rescues. I love supporting our local community and volunteer for several non-profit organizations. In addition to being the Treasurer on the Dog Park board, I am also the Board Treasurer on the Rudiger Foundation, Penn Valley Fire Auxiliary, and Rough and Ready Fire Association boards. In addition, I volunteer at the Penn Valley Fire Auxiliary thrift store and I am a dog walker at Sammie’s friends. I am also a current member of the Penn Valley Municipal Advisory Council. And last, but not least, is my newest commitment to the Nevada County Master Gardener’s Program as a Master Gardener Trainee. My passion is gardening and being outdoors, so I look forward to my time in Master Gardener’s program as well as volunteering for this program in the future. I love being on dog park board because we are all passionate about our dogs and animals in general and we work hard to make sure that the park is the best that it can be. We are always looking for volunteers and board members, so please reach out if you would like to come and join in on the fun!
Dee Dee
Director of Events
Info coming soon.............
Dave & Chris Ryan
Director of Facilities
Chris and I extend a warm greeting to all of you dog lovers! You and your furry companions are much
loved, appreciated and welcomed here at WGDP! Our hope is that you come to this wonderful park and have a fun, relaxing time with your pup! We have lived here in the Penn Valley area for a couple years now, having moved from the bustling Bay Area to be closer with our youngest son and his family. Both of us are retired, and we are both California natives. I was born in Lassen County and raised in Plumas County. Chris was born in San Jose, and grew up living in several places from the west to the east coast as her father was an IBM program manager. As a young woman, Chris’ very first job was working as a telephone operator for Sears Roebuck & Co. After a stent of working as a printer for the City of Sunnyvale, she later, established a rewarding career within the medical field working as a certified medical assistant and cardiac surgery scheduler. Over the years she has worked in dermatology, family medicine, pain care and cardiology. After college, I (Dave) began a long career with the US Forest Service working in wildland fire suppression (ground and air operations), and fire management and planning. Later, I joined the United Technologies Chemical Systems Fire Department where my first responder responsibilities included fire response, rescue, hazardous chemical emergency response, and emergency medical response. Our fellow dog park board members find it funny that we spend a lot of volunteer time at the dog park and don’t even have a dog! We don’t even have a cat! But all is well, as we do get to visit and animal sit with two of the four dogs and eight of the fourteen cats that live with our kids and grandkids! In addition, we get to see your dogs when you bring them to the park! The little dogs especially like me! A few years back we did have a great little dog who has since passed. His name was Buster, a tri-color
dachshund terrier mix that we adopted from Nike Animal Resue Foundation. We called him Buster the Wonder Dog and he could tell you stories! He was a wonderful loving member of our family, and we really miss him. He will always be within our hearts! All in all, the WGDP is a treasure. Chris and I have found that our volunteer time is never a chore. It is a labor of love! Having a clean, safe, well maintained dog park makes the effort so very rewarding for us both. So, come and visit us soon! We look forward to seeing you and your pups at the best dog park in Nevada County.
Beverley
Director of Education
Info coming soon.....
Volunteers Needed
We are seeking members who have some extra time to help us in the following areas:
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Advertising/Publicity
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Become a Board Member or Serve on a Committee
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Fundraising/Event Planning
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Dog Park Maintenance
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Grant Writer
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Workday Help (1 hour per month)
Contact us If you would like to volunteer or have questions.