Running free at The Yard
Published 1:30 am Tuesday, July 14, 2026
Border collie Tag punts the ball across the fenced-in yard, practicing her herding instincts. Located next to the Joyce L. Sobel Family Resource’s Padea Center, the nonprofit SJI K9 Detection Club established The Yard. As the title suggests, this is a secure area where people may bring their dogs to play or practice skills such as scent detection or ball-herding, which Tag was engaged in with her owner, SJI K9 Board Member Lisa Holt.
“We’re trying to create this space because there is nothing like it on the island,” Holt told the Journal. Holt is an Animal Behavior College dog trainer (certified by the Animal Behavior College), Animal Behavior College mentor trainer, Certified Nose Work instructor (through the National Association of Canine Scent Work), certified trick dog instructor and a TPU therapy dog evaluator, which is an authorized evaluator for therapy dogs.
Holt also teaches workshops through the Animal Protection Society – Friday Harbor, to which she donates.
While the dog park is a wonderful place, it may not be for all dogs all the time, Holt explained. Like humans, some dogs become easily overwhelmed or may not get along well with other dogs, and perhaps the handler would like to practice a skill set without distractions. Without a fenced-in yard, where is one to go?
Realizing the lack of off-leash spaces for dogs, the K9 Detection Club began kicking around the concept and looking for a location. At that same time, the Family Resource Center was gifted the Padea Center on Price. Maintenance for the large enclosed yard was estimated to be $700 a month. There was also trash, shrubs that needed pruning and trees that had weak limbs. “It needed a lot of work and we were willing to take that on. They gave us a very reasonable lease rate, so it’s helping them,” Holt said. “It really is a partnership.”
There is a youth group that uses it on Wednesday afternoons, and they use it for camps, but money from K9 Detection helps offset upkeep, a win-win for both organizations.
The Yard is $20 an hour, and users must also join the K9 Detection Club, a one-time $50 fee, which Wade Guidry, Milo’s owner, noted is far less expensive than building one’s own fence. Holt is open to offering one-on-one classes at The Yard, for those interested, for an extra charge.
Guidry helped arrange the app for people to book and pay for a Yard session, GloFox, typically used for fitness facilities. Once logged in, it shows the calendar and what slots are available. Once a time is selected, booking and payment are easy.
Poop-scooping is expected, and picking up any trash that yard users might have brought in. The Yard is located in a residential area, so being a good neighbor — no excessive barking, for example — is a given. Two dogs are the maximum if from different households. “Two-dog play is much safer than three-dog play or four-dog play,” Holt said. “When you have three [or more] dogs, oftentimes there is bullying.”
The excitement and joy of racing around The Yard is written across the dogs’ faces. Milo parkours off an empty bench with a grin under his snoot during his turn. Later, Nella and Bella, two black-and-white Havanese, chase each other around, wind rushing through their fur.
“The dog park isn’t always predictable,” Bill Keadle, Bella’s owner, said, explaining why he became involved in The Yard.
“It’s just an alternative for people who need something different than the public dog park for their dogs that are reactive, or they want to do concentrated training,” Holt reiterated.
To learn more about The Yard, visit https://sjik9.org/theyard, or the SJI K9 Detection Club, https://sjik9.org/. The membership agreement can be found at https://sjik9.org/yardagreement.
