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Date: 12/22/2020
SOUTH HADLEY – South Hadley residents are now able to enjoy the outdoors with their four-legged friends thanks to a brand new dog park that has been years in the making.
Jen Cullen, who serves as a member on the board of the Friends of the South Hadley Dog Park and the liaison to the town, said to get the park up and running was about a three-year process. “So, essentially, it’s been about probably a three-year process where there was a group of community members that brought up the idea of having a dog park,” he said.
The process began with several community members approaching town manager Mike Sullivan, Cullen said. “He had brought a dog park through the Stanton Foundation Grant with another town. He had some experience with it, started the process.”
While the town had to be the one to work directly with the foundation and owns the land, she said the Friends of the South Hadley Dog Park “manage the funding and maintenance of the park itself.”
She said to manage the park the group works closely with the recreation director and with the town. “It’s their land and they have to agree with the Stanton Foundation who funded the project,” she said.
Soon the park was well on its way to being built. “Friends of the South Hadley Dog Park was formed. We registered with the commonwealth,” she said. From there, a “dedicated group of people got the design underway and grants and permission and land, different parts of that that go into that.” This, she explained, was a “significant effort of town and members.”
After years of planning, construction and hard work, the dog park finally opened to the public about two months ago on Oct. 12. Cullen said while the park officially opened, they were not able to host a grand opening due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, the day the park opened, Cullen said a tree fell on a section of the fence, closing part of the park until the tree was able to be removed and the fence was repaired during the week of Dec. 14.
Funding for maintenance and repairs at the park, Cullen said, are funded through the Friends of the South Hadley Dog Park. This, she said, was and has been done through “actively seeking out donations from organizations within town, and companies within the community as well.”
She said any donations supplied by members of the community would help to further their goal of providing “a dog friendly social environment for community engagement.” Another way the group plans to fundraise money for the park is to host events in the future.
“We plan to have a number of events at the park,” she said. While they have received “really great support from individuals and businesses,” and they were financially set for the time being, she said there are costs associated with running the park and it would be a “major focus for years to come.”
Cullen said general rules in place include owners picking up after their dogs, dogs being licensed and vaccinated for rabies, bringing no more than two dogs per household into the park, not allowing female dogs in heat inside the park, limiting the small dog area of the park to canines under 30 pounds and no use of prong/pinched and/or spiked collars.
Cullen said due to the pandemic, there were also COVID specific rules for the park. Such rules include all people in attendance at the park required to wear a facemask or covering, abiding by social distancing and staying home from the park should one feel sick or unwell in any way. She said people have been willingly abiding by the COVID restriction while enjoying the park.
“Really we thought in the beginning that was going to be an issue because you’re outdoors, but people have been amazing. We’ve maybe once seen anybody without a mask,” she said. While initially visitors were required to carry out their pet’s waste, Cullen said they have since “opened up the trash on the outside of the park.”
“We’re managing waste removal for that and supply bags for people,” she said.
Since the park’s opening, Cullen said the park has been well attended. “It has brought so many people from the community to the park. We’ve got a tremendous amount of support from the community,” she said. “We’re thankful people are really enjoying it and the dogs are enjoying it. It’s a beautiful space and great addition.”
She said, ultimately, the group wants to use the park as an education tool and host information sessions. “Starting in January [2021], we’ll roll out virtual information sessions, really we’re trying to teach people in the community. People are going who have never been, people got dogs during COVID,” she said. “We’re trying to teach them, working closely with the Good Dog Spot, to roll out informational videos and sessions about dog etiquette, dog park etiquette, ways to monitor behavior.”
She said often dog parks “get a bad rep,” but they were “working hard to ensure it’s a positive place and positive environment for the community.” She said while the snow had fallen and winter was underway, the group would continue to open the park during the winter months.
“The parking lot will be minimally plowed, we’re not planning on doing a bunch of snow removal, but the gate will continue to be unlocked and open,” she said. “We want people to use it, but there will likely be a time when the gate doesn’t open because of snow.”
The dog park is located at 14 Mulligan Dr. and is open from dawn to dusk. More information about the park or ways to donate can be found online at https://southhadleydogpark.org/.