What can you do to help bring a dog park to Locust Point?

Go out tomorrow night and have a drink.

Life isn’t that easy, of course, and neither is bringing a dog park into existence, especially in Baltimore, a city that sports exactly one – the Canton Dog Park.

But a long-running attempt to bring a dog park to Latrobe Park -- a fenced area in which dogs can run and play unleashed -- is moving ahead, with a fundraiser scheduled from 6 to 9 p.m. Thursday at The Sly Fox Pub, 823 E. Fort Ave.

Barbara Wilson, a Locust Point resident who’s now helping lead the effort, said Thursday night’s fundraiser will be the third. So far about $3,800 of the needed $60,000 has been raised.

The group has a web site: locustpointdogpark.org

And, in a show of good faith, it's already tidying up the park -- as it will be required to do once it actually exists. Volunteers meet there every first Saturday of the month at 10 a.m.

At the Sly Fox Thursday night, all drinks will be $3; and some food items are 1/2 price. There will also be raffles and dog gear for sale. While dogs aren't permitted, the organizers urge you to bring your dog photos and stories along, and they're urging folks in the nearby Riverside and Federal Hill neighborhoods -- both dogparkless -- to join in, too.

Wilson took over the helm of the group after moving to Locust Point a year ago from Gaithersburg, where she lived next door to a dog park. “Since October, it has been full steam ahead,” she said. While the city still needs to give the plan final approval, Wilson is hoping construction can begin by spring.

The city’s application process for a dog park is an arduous one, requiring approval from the community association, and the establishment of a nonprofit “friends of the park group” that is responsible for footing the entire bill and maintaining the park. Wilson says it will be worth the effort.

"Dog parks provide a safe and clean place for dogs to interact, and they lead to happier and more obedient dogs, which in a neighborhood as tight as this one is important. It's a stress-free place for them to play."