North Adams Dog Park Offers Room to Run
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — A happy dog running in circles may be the epitome of unrestrained joy.
Now imagine two of them. Or three, four or five.
That's what you'll find at the new North Adams Community Dog Park that held its "grand opening" on Friday evening.
A pack ranging in size from miniature to gigantic were happily cavorting at the new park off Houghton Street. The 6,000-square-foot fenced-in space has proved a hit in the city with dogs and owners alike.
Madeleine Lord recalled how she'd take Pierre, her Bichon, to a dog park in Florida every winter. There's never been anything like that available in North Adams.
"We used to have a neighbor with a dog but now we haven't," she said, turning to Pierre, "you like other dogs, don't you. He likes to socialize. ...
"I'm so happy that we have this."
Pierre was playing with Charlie and Chewy in the small-dog park only open to pooches who stand below the "red line" on the rules board posted on the fence. On the other side, in the larger enclosure, more than a half-dozen large dogs were playing. Both play areas have bag stations donated by the Northern Berkshire Community Coalition for cleaning up droppings.
"This is the first time I've been but just following all the posts on the Facebook page, people are like scheduling times to meet up and making playdates," said Christa Abel, one of the organizers of the project and owner of Bark N' Cat. "They're also keeping people informed if something is off."
Owners began frequenting the park, the only dog park in North County, once the rules were posted. The city installed the fencing, using Community Development Block Grant funds, several weeks ago. The walking path that circled the Houghton Street park currently runs through the dog area. That will be relocated at a later date.
"It's been amazing, there's been a ton of use, happy use," said Tara Jacobs, who spearheaded the project. As Abel had said, dog owners were using dog park's Facebook page and a Teamup calendar Jacobs created to schedule playtimes.
Some were getting together for early morning play, others were scheduling for dogs of certain breeds, like a group of huskies, which works well since breeds can have different levels of interactions.
"We have rough-houses rough housing with each other, Labs Labbing with each other and puppies, there's a ton of puppies in town," Jacobs said. Even better, she said puppy parents have really taken the park on as their own. There was a complaint about small branches sticking out of a tree stump in the park, and the park users took care of it.
"Our whole group has been working, working, working and now that it's here, people on the Facebook Page have totally stepped up," she said. "They've been posting like how they picked up some trash or 'we saw poop that someone didn't pick up and we picked it up' ... If they're seeing something, they're doing something. It's just what we hoped would happen."
Jacobs was also thrilled that she ran into an out-of-town visitor from the nearby Porches Inn who brought his dog over to the park.
"It was exactly what we were saying every time we pitched is it would be great for the community and also would be great for people visiting and it's totally playing out that way," she said.
It's taken a number of years for this park to come to fruition but the move to a dog-friendly community is moving apace. A much larger dog park is being planned by the Hoosic River Revival as part of the Phase 1 work along the river near Noel Field.
Mayor Richard Alcombright didn't have a dog but said he was glad to see others being able to utilize the new park.
"One or two people can have an idea in a community this size and really make it happen," he said. "These are folks who just love their dogs, love their animals and this is really what a dog park is all about.
"It's just a good thing. It was easy to say yes."
Tags: dog park, dogs,
