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First off-leash dog park opened in Shelburne

June 16, 2022   ·   0 Comments

Written By Paula Brown

Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Dogs in Shelburne now have a space they’re free to run around in off-leash 

The Town of Shelburne celebrated the official grand opening of the off-leash dog park, located at Fiddle Park, on June 11. 

“As many of you know this has been under work for some time…it’s nice to finally be here and make this official. This opening marks the first of what will be many new additions to our parks and recreation compliment within the Town of Shelburne,” said Shelburne Mayor Wade Mills. “This will be an ongoing project, what you see here today is probably not going to be the final iteration of the dog park. This will grow and get better and improve overtime, but it’s a great start.”

The concept for an off-leash dog park in the community was initially brought forward by council in 2019, with staff directed to allocate funds for its production in the 2020 budget. The project was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and was later re-introduced as a capital project in the 2022 budget. 

According to a report from September 2021, the estimated cost of the dog park was around $92,000. 

Site preparation and clearing began at Fiddle Park in April and construction of the fencing was installed in May. Additional landscaping and seating were added in late May.

Coun. Lindsay Wegener was one of the driving forces behind the development of the local off-leash dog park and was in attendance for the grand opening, along with her dog, Gibson. 

“We’re seeing as the town grows and our demographics change the requirement from the community for more amenities, and this was one of the first things we figured we could im-plement quickly,” said Wegener. “For me it was a no brainer, being a vet tech by trade this was already a passion of mine. This is exciting for us but it’s also exciting for the dogs as well, to be able to get out, run around, and interact with other dogs.” 

Amenities for the off-leash dog park includes a small dog section, a large dog section, picnic tables, garbage receptable, dog waste stations and 16 parking spaces. 

A number of community members were out on Saturday (June 11) with Town council and staff to celebrate the opening of the new dog park. 

Chris Graham attended the opening with his dog Cali, also known as California Love and spoke with the Free Press about the new park amenity. 

“It’s great, love it. We got our dog during COVID so she’s never really played with other dogs and we need some socialization. You never really know what’s going on at a regular park, but here we trust that there’s responsible dog owners,” said Graham. 

Meagan Bruce was also out for the off-leash dog park with her English Springer Spaniel pup Ivy. 

“We have been dying for a dog park. When the survey came out it was the number one thing my husband and I wanted because there’s not really anywhere for her to go and run,” said Bruce. “I think she loves it and it’s nice that she can play around with all the other dogs here.” 

Further information, including rules and regulations to access the off-leash dog park can be found through the Town’s Park Projects page. 



         

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