01/25/12
Peconic Dog Park Doubled in Size,
Gets New Amenities Thanks to Efforts of Local Dog Owners
|
PHOTO CREDIT: Copyright 2012 Katharine Schroeder After 17 months of negotiations, the Town of Southold agreed to expand the dog park located on 970 Peconic Lane behind the Southold Town Recreation Center in Peconic. The existing dog run was small, shadeless and barren and had no seating areas. Southold Town did not want to move the existing park and some officials were very hesitant to make the park bigger as they felt it was a waste of money since no one used the park. With support and advice from LI-DOG, we sent countless emails, petitions, and quite convincing arguments to Southold Town that people would come, if the park were larger and nicer. In December 2011, Southold Town agreed to double the size. We had hoped for a new park and location, but we were happy to accept the expansion of the existing dog park. The fencing was moved, and thanks to our combined efforts with the Group for the East End, a local environmental organization, they facilitated the donation of several elm trees from Dart’s Tree Farm. In addition, Southold Town really put their best foot forward and installed several new benches and prepped some planting beds to be ready for the spring. With continued help and support from the Group for the East End, we will be planting native grasses along the fence line in the spring. Additionally, we plan to organize a fundraiser to beautify the park even more by installing a brick pathway and a gazebo. Lastly, we would like to put in a few pieces of agility equipment. We are pleased to say that the park is now packed daily and is thoroughly enjoyed by many people and dogs. We encourage every town to have a park. The people and dogs love it! To see more photos from the new dog park and get more information, check out the at North Fork Doggy Date group on Facebook. By Dawn Bennett, AKC Evaluator |
