LANCASTER, N.Y. — In what many people would see as just a vacant lot, Cheektowaga residents Shelly and Don Gordon see an opportunity.
They plan to transform five acres of land in Lancaster into a facility called Premier Dog Sports & Event Center.
The parcel is on Lancaster Parkway near Pavement Road and Walden Avenue.
The Gordons say now they're just working out the details with Lancaster officials.
Did they ever see yourselves where they are today?
"Never. Not ever," Shelly said. "I'm the president of a basset hound rescue, and that's just what I was gonna do forever, help save homeless basset hounds in New York. And I never thought a basset would be good at agility, and my guy was."
She's talking about her floppy-eared rescue basset named Diesel.
They first got involved with agility training and competition about seven years ago. Since then, the two have even competed in the American Kennel Club Agility Invitational in Orlando, Florida.
"'Any dog can do anything with the right amount of patience, the right amount of training, a good teacher and a good owner," Shelly said.
That's the idea behind the dream.
"We decided if we were gonna do it, we were gonna do it big, and it was gonna be really a world-class facility. It's gonna be a regional destination. That's how it's marketed for the whole Northeast region, the Great Lakes, and Southern Ontario," Don said.
Shelly added, "It's gonna be 26,000 square feet, and we're gonna have a dock diving pool in there for the dogs that wanna learn dock diving, and we're gonna have a mezzanine level up on top so people can watch. We're gonna have a barn hunt area, agility area."
The Gordons say they're finishing up the blueprints, and they're hoping to break ground sometime in January, with an ideal opening date about six or seven months after that.
"The economy in Western New York is doing great right now. We just want to be a part of it," Don said.
The goal is to have classes during the week, and hopefully competitions on the weekends.
On the lot, there's also plenty of space for a potential expansion down the line.
However, a piece of their humble beginnings with Diesel will be there each step of the way.
"The land is being purchased in his name so he'll be remembered forever," Shelly said.
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