Rock Stars

If you own a dog and use the off-leash area of Mt. Tabor Park, you can thank Nancy Norby, the chief advocate for an off-leash area in the park. When Nancy got her first dog, Sam, in 1989 there was no dog park or off-leash area in Mt. Tabor Park and no real push for such from those with dogs who used the park. After getting a place on the committee for the master plan for Mt. Tabor Park, Nancy realized that if dog owners were going to have a voice in decisions involving their animals she was going to have to be that voice, and her primary motivation for meeting with the group that met to form Friends of Mt. Tabor Park was to secure an off-leash area within the park.

In the summer of 2003, a series of dog poisonings in Laurelhurst Park, brought the need for off-leash areas in city parks to the public’s attention. Mt. Tabor Park was not among the first twenty or so areas deemed appropriate for dogs despite the fact that the neighborhoods within a quarter of a mile surrounding the park had the most licensed dog owners within the city. When this information became known, the city decided to add Mt Tabor Park to the list of parks deemed appropriate for dog use. The southern area of the park near Warner-Pacific University was designated as the best place for an off-leash area, and Nancy became the first steward of the off-leash area.