HUNTINGTON OPENS FIRST ON-LEASH DOG WALKING TRAILS AT DIX HILLS PARK RIBBON CUTTING EVENT
LI-DOG Inaugurates Woodland Trail with On-Leash Pack Walk with Dog Owners and Their Dogs
Photo Credit: Ron Richichi
With dozens of dog owners and their dogs looking on, Huntington Councilwoman Susan Berland, joined by leaders of LI-DOG and the Huntington Trials Committee, officially opened the Town’s first on-leash dog walking trails on June 21st with a ribbon cutting on the Woodland Trail in Dix Hills Park. The ribbon cutting was immediately followed by an LI-DOG Pack Walk—a group on-leash dog walk– on the now dog-friendly Woodland Trail–a beautiful 1.9 mile trail that skirts the perimeter of the park.
The opening of the trails to on-leash dog walking is the result of two groundbreaking resolutions sponsored by Councilman Mark Cuthbertson and unanimously supported by the Huntington Town Board that allow dog owners to walk their dogs on-leash on four designated trails in Huntington Town Parks.
In a prepared statement, Councilman Cuthbertson said, “I am proud to have sponsored the legislation that designated on-leash dog walking in four Huntington locations. I feel that controlled dog walking will benefit our community in a variety of ways: encouraging people to keep a closer watch on their neighborhoods, exercise more, and explore some of the wonderful trails that our parks system has to offer.”
“We are very excited to be celebrating this groundbreaking change in town policy that will benefit so many local residents with dogs,” said LI-DOG President Ginny Munger Kahn. “We are grateful for Councilman Cuthbertson’s leadership in making this happen and for the Huntington Town Board’s unanimous support for this initiative.” LI-DOG helped gain support for the resolutions and worked with the Huntington Trails Committee on its recommendations to the Town Board on the first four trails.
Photo Credit: SST Photography
The event featured remarks by Councilwoman Berland, Huntington Greenway Trails Citizens Advisory Committee Chair Laura McKellar, and LI-DOG’s Munger Kahn. Among the key points made by all the speakers were the importance of everyone cleaning up after their dogs and keeping their dogs on –leash on these newly designated trails. To underline the importance of cleaning up, LI-DOG provided free Earth Rated poop bag dispensers and bags generously donated by Eco Group Inc. of Canada. To read about Earth Rated’s eco-friendly bags, go here. http://www.earthrated.com/home/
Complimentary copies of the Town of Huntington’s 2nd Edition Trails Guide, a comprehensive guide to dozens of Town, County and State trails within Huntington, were also provided to all event attendees. Speakers noted that rules for on-leash dog walking on these trails vary. While Suffolk County parks generally allow on-leash dog walking, for example, only four trails in Huntington Town parks currently are open for dog walking. They are: The right-of-way segment in the Jerome Ambro Preserve in E. Northport, the perimeter path at Frazer Drive Park in Greenlawn, the paved path at Sunshine Acres Park in Commack, and the Woodland Trail in Dix Hills Park. To see a copy of the Trails Guide, download the Huntington Trail Guide pdf .
To see an informative video of the Woodland Trail, go to YouTube.
Photo Credit: Ron Richichi
LI-DOG is very hopeful that these four trails are only the beginning for Town of Huntington parks as well as other Town parks on Long Island. Trails Committee Chair McKellar noted that anyone can recommend trails for on-leash dog walking to the committee. The committee is responsible for recommending and developing new trails and trail uses in Huntington Town parks. LI-DOG is represented on the committee.
In addition, she urged people to consider joining the Town’s Park Stewardship program. Dog owners are great candidates for the Park Stewardship program, said Munger Kahn, as they tend to go to the same parks over and over again with their dogs. Park Stewards act as the “eyes, ears and voice” for the parks, she noted. For information about the Park Stewardship Program, contact the Dept. of Planning and Environment at 631-351-3196.
The event also featured representatives from the League for Animal Protection and the Huntington Shelter with two great dogs available for adoption. The Shelter dogs—Cecil and Amber– also participated in the Pack Walk with everyone else. For more information about Cecil and Amber and to find out how you can help LAP’s dog program, call 631-757-9373 or email them at: dogs@LAPHuntington.org
We want to thank our Pack Leaders—Ron Richichi, Paul Kearney and Chris Laubis—for doing a great job with our Pack Walk and thanks to all our supporters and their dogs for coming out to the event! The great turnout shows how much dog owners appreciate and need access to parks. With everyone’s help—cleaning up and keeping dogs on-leash– this will be just the beginning and we’ll have many more beautiful parks, and hopefully beaches, we can enjoy with our dogs in the future!
Thanks for your support.
P.S. For lots of great pictures from the event, check out the photos on the LI-DOG Facebook Group and on Meetup