MATTAPOISETT — Dogs and their humans ambled through Mattapoisett for a fundraiser Saturday Aug. 24, as part of an effort to create a recreational space for dogs in Mattapoisett that’s spanned years.

The dog walk-a-thon, held annually, 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. 

At the walk-a-thon, dog owners donated $20 and then strolled through a half-mile or mile loop that started and ended at Center School.

And overall, Bauer said about $16,000 had been raised, enough to apply for a $100,000 grant from the Stanton Foundation, which offers grants for dog parks in Massachusetts.

“My main thing right now is just trying to get the land,” Bauer said.

One potential parcel identified for the park is a portion of the Holy Ghost Grounds on Park Street.

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

The idea of a dog park at the grounds was nearly as divisive as the suggestion of pickleball courts, according to the data; Bauer said it won out in the survey by just one vote.

“There’s still a lot that needs to happen if it were to go there,” Mattapoisett Select Board member Jodi Bauer — and Freemin Bauer’s mother — said. 

A conceptual design of the dog park organizes the space into three fenced-in sections — for small, big and older dogs — with sally port entrances that would prevent dogs from bolting in or out.

The park would be an oval to limit corners where dogs could get trapped, which is how fights between dogs start, according to Bauer.

He said at least one acre of fenced-in space is needed. 

At the prospective park, people might be able to donate benches or bricks for a memorial wall in dogs’ names, according to Bauer.

And if the park were to be located at the Holy Ghost Grounds, it could tap into water there, making special water fountains for dogs a possibility.

Whether at the Holy Ghost Grounds or elsewhere, Bauer said “a dog park is going to 100% get built in Mattapoisett.”

There are about 1,600 dogs in Mattapoisett, according to Jodi Bauer.

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

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

It would serve as a “place for animals to socialize,” according to Bauer.

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