Friends of St. Nicholas Park, Columbia University students, and neighborhood dog lovers cleared out a space in in the park for a new dog run this weekend. A sweaty team of dedicated people cleared brush and cleaned up errant debris to ready the spot on 135th Street. Friends of St. Nicholas Park President and proud parent of a Shepherd mix, Shawn, has been working on getting this run off the ground for some time.

The run's creation complements an ongoing betterment of the park. The park stairs on 135th Street recently underwent a million dollar renovation, and $750,000 more has been allocated for additional park improvements.

Those funds, however, are for the park as a whole, and not specifically for the dog run. The Friends of St. Nicholas Park are seeking donations of wood chips and fencing. They are hoping for wrought iron, to keep with the look of the park. (Sound familiar?)

To raise the money needed for materials that are not donated, the friends of the park are holding a fundraiser on September 16th. Check back on the Barking Lot for information on the upcoming event. In addition to helping out neighborhood dogs, you will also get to see Shawn and his partner's brownstone.

More Treo-quality photos of people and pets after the jump.