ADOG secures funds to create an off-leash dog park

Date: 10/25/2013

By Carley Dangona

carley@thereminder.com

AGAWAM – Dog owners will soon have a park to provide their four-legged companions with exercise and interaction.

The Agawam City Council voted unanimously at its Oct. 21 meeting to appropriate $14,145 in Community Preservation Act funds for the creation of a dog park as a recreational use at Shea Field.

Debbi Sanchez, ADOG president, said she was “elated the council vote was unanimous” and that “Agawam has been given a wonderful opportunity to create an off-leash recreational area for not only it’s citizens to utilize, but also for the entire Pioneer Valley.”

The next step in the process is for town officials and Stanton Foundation members to define the details construction phase. The groundbreaking is anticipated to take place in the spring of 2014.

On Sept. 7, the Stanton Foundation awarded the Agawam Dog Owners Group (ADOG) a $245,000 grant. ADOG’s fundraising efforts resulted in $10,000 that the group will donate to the cause.

ADOG is a volunteer organization formed in 2011, with the goal of creating a five-acre, fenced-in, off-leash dog park for their canine friends.

For more information about ADOG and its dog park project, visit http://agawamdogpark.com.