Clinton Goes To The Dogs

Clinton will see some happy news for dog owners soon, as a dog park more than two years in the making may open as early as September of this year.

The Clinton dog park is planned for development on the , adjacent to on Glenwood Road. The park spans a third of an acre and is equipped with a fence and ample parking.

Last year, dog enthusiasts donated more than $3,000 toward the park initiative, which was approved by the town in May. The nearest dog park is located in Branford.

Development of the dog park property was held up by remediation of a house located on the land. The house, owned by the town, has been vacant and vandalized for quite some time, but removal of the property had to adhere to restrictions regarding lead and asbestos.

Removal of lead and asbestos wrapped two weeks ago and the property now passes to the fire department for training purposes before the (DPW) begins development on the park.

“I have not been involved in town projects before, so it’s been a learning experience,” said selectwoman Carol Walter. “Everyone I know at town hall said that this is actually moving quite fast for a town project.”

Plans for a dog park began long before the selectwoman’s tenure, spearheaded by a scrappy group of dog lovers. Though impassioned about the project, the group met with the usual bureaucratic challenges imbued in a major town project.

“There were no funds, there was no real concrete plan when I got involved with this,” said Walter. “There are certain steps in any project and you have to go from step to A to B to C to D.”

Last winter, the group pulled together site plans for Clinton’s Planning and Zoning Commission, DPW, and police department.  

“That took about six to seven months,” said Walter. “We just weren’t aware that as the planning committee we would have to go through all of that ourselves.”

The group secured approval of site plans in April with the help of an architectural firm who donated its hours and consultation. It recently sent adopted sanctions to the town's insurer, attorney, police department, and DPW for approval. The sanctions propose rules to govern the dog park.

“Most of it is common sense,” said Walter. “They’re not terrible. They’re for the safety of all involved and rules that protect the town from liability.”

The rules include responsibility of dog guardians, restrictions regarding permitted animals (no dogs in heat, no aggressive dogs), and hours of operation (dawn to dusk).

“If we all observe the rules, I think that this could be a long, successful venture,” said Walter.

“You have to dot all the ‘I’s’ and cross all the ‘T’s,’ there’s no way around that,” Walter said of the behind-the-scenes work for the dog park. “We showed them what we had, they told us what we needed, we’d have to go back to the drawing board and you have to do that until you have the process completed and everybody’s happy with how it turned out. So patience was lesson one. It’s been a long process, but when it’s done it’ll be so worthwhile.”

Development now hinges on the DPW who aims to demolish the house on the dog park property after fire department training. Once the house has been removed, the department will begin work on minor fence repair, sign posting, and other dog-related development, like building dog clean-up stations.

“DPW will be involved with the final look of the park, getting the park ready,” said Walter. “It’ll be a joint effort by the town and the people who want to use the park—that’s basically what it boils down to.”

Walter and the planning committee have already begun plotting their next steps, which include finding funds for benches, continued operation, and expansion.

“It’s a small park, but there is an adjoining property that, frankly, has the potential to increase the size of the dog park,” said Walter. “Who knows, maybe this property that is there, overgrown, and not used at this time, could be an expanded and larger dog park.”

Of course funding for park expansion will be a harder hike for the pack. The Hurd property came with an established fence, but its adjoining property would require costly fence construction.

“I see this as an outlet for the people just as much as a social outlet for the dogs,” said Walter. “There aren’t a lot of places in Clinton where people can sit and chat and get to know each other informally. I think it will benefit so many people in town.”

The Clinton Dog Park planning committee is comprised of Carol Walter, Sandy Springer, Robin Buckley, Bonnie Finkeldey, Grace Guidon and Lindsey Merrill. For more information on how you can get involved visit http://www.facebook.com/pages/Clinton-Dog-Park/155418167826108?v=info or sign up for updates at cwalter@clintonct.org.