Tired of taking her four dogs to roam free at the Alpine Dog Park in Ramsey, Jen Frisby had been thinking it was time Andover had its own dog park.

Frisby, 41, had a "light bulb" moment driving home from a Mother's Day celebration in Rochester.

With four dogs panting in the back seat next to their 11-year-old daughter, Jen and her husband Rob, 43, decided they would approach the city about opening a dog park.

"We just sat back and waited and kept seeing them pop up in other communities," she said. "Then we finally decided to see what we could do."

Though the Frisbys have a fenced-in backyard, the couple like the social aspects of a dog park.

"Dogs are such a big part of our life, and we like to socialize with other people and trade tips," Jen said. "Plus, the more socialized your dog is, the better pet it's going to be."

As Jen Frisby got the ball rolling, she discovered that she wasn't the only one itching for a place that dogs could call their own.

"We've had calls from residents wondering why we don't have a dog park, but no one ever put an effort to move it forward," said Andover Assistant Public Works Director Todd Haas. "She and her husband are really dedicated to get this done."

To make a dog park more feasible and appealing to the city, the Frisbys proposed one that would be funded by dog owners.

"We just want to know if there is space to use in the city. It really isn't the right time to ask the city for money with the economy, even if there is an upswing," Jen Frisby said. "People are still hurting."

After meeting with the Park and Recreation Commission at the end of May, the Frisbys started a website, www.andoverdogpark.com, to gather community support.

The family set up a booth at the Andover Family Fun Fest in July, where they compiled 400 names on written petitions, in addition to nearly 200 names on an online petition on their website, Jen Frisby said.

"The more a community puts into it, the more they will get out of it," she said. "If it's a city or county dog park, the community doesn't really take as much ownership."

So far, the couple has the location narrowed to four spots: Andover Station North, Eveland Fields, the city center north park and Fox Meadows.

Jen and Rob have modeled a potential dog park in Andover after others in Blaine, Coon Rapids and Ramsey.

"We would be using an existing park, but it would be unutilized space within those parks," Rob Frisby said. "So we're not really cutting into anyone's space."

Minimizing the costs

If the city allows space to be used within an existing park, that could help minimize costs, he said. After crunching some numbers and comparing other cities' dog parks, he estimates the community would need to raise between $5,000 and $10,000.

Though they haven't started fundraising efforts yet, some of their ideas include paving a path in the park with bricks engraved with dogs' names for $10 per brick. Others include asking a large corporation like Menards to donate fencing in exchange for placing the company's advertisement on the perimeter fence. While the couple is holding brainstorming sessions, they will not begin fundraising until they know the exact location and cost, Jen Frisby said.

The Park and Recreation Commission and the City Council will convene later this month to assess locations and costs, said Haas.

"Once the park goes up, we want to keep it nice," Jen Frisby said. "We want this to be a piece of the community -- a piece of us."