Something tells me that Baltimore's next official dog park -- only the city's second -- is going to be in Locust Point's Latrobe Park.

And no, it's not a Ouija Board (which, by the way, were last manufactured in Baltimore just a block up the road from the Fort Avenue park).

Nor have I gotten word, animal communicator style, from the many dogs to whom the park is already a home away from home -- Dixie, Rocky, Sandy, Turkey, Bogart, Payton, and of course, Natty and Boh among them.

Instead it's the commitment of a spirited group of volunteers who already have received most of the necessary permits and permissions and are more than halfway to raising the amount initially needed to get work underway.

While a dog park may not mean much to Zeus and Apollo (pictured above) -- the two Rottweilers of John And Debbie Kleinsmith stay on their leashes while outside -- to dozens of other dogs and their owners, it means enough to make some sacrifices and spend a lot of time making it happen.

"Dog parks provide a safe and clean place for dogs to interact," said Barbara Wilson, a Locust Point resident who’s helping lead the effort, "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."

 The group's web site is locustpointdogpark.org.

Volunteers in the group meet the first Saturday of every month to clean the 14-acre park, as a show of good faith.

And they've held a series of benefits at South Baltimore bars to help raise money to build it. The next one is May 15 from 6 p.m. to 9 pm. at Little Havana.

In another fund-raising event, back in December, they sponsored a have-your-dogs-picture-taken-with-Santa event on the waterfront in Locust Point.

(Santa photo courtesy locustpointdogpark.org)