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Small town dog park: Dog owners organize for fun, community
By David S. Greene
October 16, 2010
If you’re a human being, Maynard, Mass., has a lot to offer. If you’re a dog, not so much.
Maynard is a typical small Massachusetts community. It sits on the banks of the Assabet River, west of Boston, and is known for its historic Clock Tower Mill, once home to Digital Electronics Corp, now the world headquarters of monster.com.
What Maynard doesn’t have is a safe, off-leash dog park.
Lisa Lines and Rob Wezwick want to change that. Lisa founded the Maynard Dog Owner’s Group (MayDOG) two years ago. Its primary mission was to push for the creation of a safe, public, off leash recreation area for dogs. Rob is MayDOG’s current president (Lisa stepped down after an initial two-year term to pursue graduate studies).
I spoke to Lisa recently about the need for the creation of a dog park in a town of barely 11,ooo residents:
Dog parks are amazing social hubs for both people and dogs. Dog owners frequently visit every day or every week, and get to know their neighbors — trading training tips, recommending plumbers, whatever.
Also, dog parks are wonderful for older or disabled dog owners who can’t necessarily walk their dog as long or as often as they would like.
The closest fenced dog park to Maynard is over 40 minutes away, so we just miss out on all those possible benefits. Moreover, a dog park raises property values for the area it’s in, brings visitors to town (who spend money at local businesses), and provides a place for educational events for the dog owner community.
The movement to create a dog park in Maynard is one being mirrored in communities across the country. To read more about the value of a dog park to a community, innovative ideas to finance the park, and why it might not happen no matter how good an idea it is, read the complete interview here.
Photo credit: Flickr Creative Commons: Dogs greeting each other, paul+photos=moody’s photostream.
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Reminds me of when I would take my children to the playground and talk to my neighbors while the kids were having fun.
Now it is the dog guardians’(or owners’) turn to chat with the neighbors while the dogs have fun and exercise.
Comment by Evelyn — October 17, 2010 @ 6:34 am
We are a community of over 100,000 and we have one “developed” dog park which is attached to a local veterinary hospital. The park is only open when the vet is open. Not very convenient for Sunday play time. We are “supposedly” getting three dog parks throughout the city.
I live in a city that is not dog friendly. Can’t take them to parks. Can’t take them to school grounds (where I used to like to train). Can’t take them into any stores other than Cabela’s and Petsmart and there is a strict leash law. I hope the dog parks pan out, but I am not holding my breath.
My dogs love the dog park at the vet and will start screaming when we get close.
Comment by Jill — October 17, 2010 @ 8:50 am
It’s good to hear that people are working to get a dog park in Maynard.
I was late to the idea of dog parks, mostly because I have a big orchard my dog(s) can use to run all they want. Once I started taking my shy, undersocialized rescue Collie, I began to appreciate the value.
Ten years later Collie Remy isn’t feeling the need to run full-tilt boogie all the time, but he loves sniffing and wagging and trotting with his buddies at the park. He also makes the rounds to each human, loving to get petted. If a human doesn’t notice, Remy will lean against the person and smile, and sometimes he’s forced to sit on the person’s foot until he gets his “Hi there!”
Remy takes on a Big Brother role with new timid dogs. He greets them gently and then trots off, and they glue themselves to him as he greets dogs and humans.
Our dog park has become the Third Place in the area, with people comparing consumer notes, recipes, how-to directions, and just hanging out as an outdoor coffee shop. There will be people hitting tennis balls with a racket for the retrievers on one side, other people throwing Frisbees for the Border Collies on the other side, and a dozen people sitting in chairs talking and drinking coffee.
Love it.
Comment by Marge — October 17, 2010 @ 10:06 am
I raise a toast to Lisa and Rob while I lament that our own off leash dog park here in Westborough was taken away because of the irresponsibility of a few owners. They have since reopened it as an “on leash” dog park which is kind of like having a beautiful walking trail where you have to walk in place on treadmills.
I have personally witnessed the benefits of socializing our dog with other dogs and I am convinced that there is no better way for a dog to get it’s yah yahs’ out then running around with other like minded pooches. I hope the owners in Maynard will pick up after their furry friends and keep unfriendly dogs and people out so your dogs can enjoy this wonderful present for a long time to come.
Comment by Marc Bridge — October 22, 2010 @ 3:47 pm
Thanks, Marc. Maynard doesn’t have a dog park yet, and it’s hard to know when (or if) it will happen, but I echo your caution. Remember to play nice, pick up, and keep the place attractive for all.
Comment by David S. Greene — October 22, 2010 @ 3:53 pm