Most of us remember the great Kevin Costner movie, “ Field of Dreams,” about an Iowa farmer’s passion to meet Shoeless Joe Jackson and the other seven banned Chicago Black Sox players from the 1919 World Series.

He builds the baseball diamond in his farm’s cornfields and, sure enough, Shoeless Joe and his disgraced teammates arrive.

The movie’s theme revolves around the refrain, “If you build it, he will come.” It represents a dream fulfilled.

Here in Brunswick, a similar dream is building. However, in this scenario, it’s not old-time baseball players, but dogs, all sorts and sizes of dogs, which, with their responsible owners, can come to a clean, fenced, offleash park to exercise and socialize in a safe, well maintained exercise area. Not a ballpark, but a dog park. That is our dream.

We intend to create an attractive space that will be a community gathering place for dogs and their owners. In addition, local businesses will benefit from a well-run dog park bringing residents and travelers to the downtown area to shop, dine and use its services.

In March, the Brunswick Parks and Recreation Department and the Brunswick Town Council approved a 1.2-acre parcel located along the Androscoggin River Bicycle and Pedestrian Path to be used for the dog park, with the stipulation that the funding to build the facility be raised privately.

Location, location, location: Besides having the dog park situated securely inside the Bike and Pedestrian Pathway, getting to the facility itself by means other than vehicular is ideal.

The East Brunswick and downtown Brunswick gateways will provide convenient access to a vast majority of the town’s residents, as well as our neighbors from all directions. It also will be highly visible to drivers traveling with their exercise-deprived dogs.

It should surprise no one that there is a dog park finder app with more than 2,000 dog parks listed nationwide. The Brunswick Dog Park will be the only fenced dog park on the coastal route between Portland and Belfast.

The cost of fencing and basic amenities for the park build-out is approximately $50,000. Since June, we have raised $ 14,000 toward our goal. There is a long way to go, but a core of determined, highly motivated dog owners is working hard to transform this dream into a reality.

To realize our dream, we will happily accept donations of all sizes and shapes, similar to our dogs. Large contributions will help us reach our objective of beginning construction in the late spring of 2012. Smaller ones will help us reach our final goal.

You don’t have to be a dog owner to contribute. Just understand how necessary it is for dogs to be able to exercise in a clean and safe environment and what a great asset this will be for our entire community.

The Brunswick Dog Park, yet to be named officially, is far more than a gleam in our eyes. There is a vital need for a public space to take the many dogs that reside with us in our neighborhoods to exercise safely out of harm’s way.

With the town of Brunswick’s generous donation of land inside the Bike and Pedestrian Pathway, this is a great opportunity to parlay it into another successful public-private partnership that makes Brunswick a great place to call home.

To donate, mail your taxdeductible contribution to Brunswick Dog Park, P.O. Box 821, Brunswick, ME 04011 or donate online to www.barkmaine.org/donate.

ROB JARRATT lives in Brunswick.