By Michelle Royce Williams
Special to the Times
Kerry Sullivan used to see a lot of Waterford residents at Groton’s dog park.
And so in January 2007 when a few of them began approaching her about trying to open one in town, she wasn’t too surprised.
But because a dog park is something that would only benefit a select group of Waterford residents, Sullivan, program coordinator for Waterford Recreation and Parks, wanted to make sure she investigated the idea properly.
Later that year, an ad hoc committee was formed to see if there was a need for the park. And when approximately 75 people showed for a public hearing on the matter, overwhelmingly in favor of a park, Sullivan and about a dozen other residents formed a committee to further advance the project.
More than a year later, on May 17, Waterford’s dog park at Stenger Farm has opened.
About an acre of the property, adjacent to Clark Lane, is fenced in with areas for both smaller and larger dogs. In total, the property spans nearly 100 acres and includes a number of dog- and people-friendly trails. Maps of the property are available at the Recreation and Parks office and are also posted on signage around the site.
While the park was approved by the Planning and Zoning Commission as well as the Board of Selectmen, it was funded entirely by donations. To date, the committee has raised $16,000, which has funded among other things, trash receptacles, two grass seedings per year, and a two-year supply of doggie waste bags.
Other donations to the park have included picnic tables, fencing, and memory bricks. The Waterford Rotary donated funding for the park’s
signage.
The committee is currently raising funds to plant more trees on the
property.
As the property was already mowed and maintained by the town prior to the park’s opening, the town will continue basic maintenance.
Rabbi Aaron Rosenberg, a member of the steering committee that helped to open the park, said that before the dog park, the Stenger Farm property was a hidden gem that went unnoticed by most residents.
“Now I’m glad to see that it’s actually being utilized more,” he said.
He’s been one of the residents to start enjoying the park. He and his yellow Lab, Caleb, have visited the park a handful of times since its opening.
“It’s big enough that [the dogs] get good exercise,” he said, adding that it’s “a great place to take [the dogs] to meet other dogs.”
MJ Marcks and her boxer, Fender, and shepherd mix, Zildjian, agree.
“It’s been just an unbelievably great experience,” Marcks said. She and her dogs had been traveling to dog parks in Groton and Norwich prior to the Waterford park’s
opening.
Not only do her dogs enjoy it (she says one of them knows as soon as they drive onto Clark Lane and gets excited), but dog owners and other residents have reaped many of the same social benefits as the dogs.
“It’s a great social thing for the people as well as the dogs, which we hadn’t thought about when we opened the park,” she said. “People have met their neighbors.”
Marcks also sits on the committee and said that she hopes the park will grow in popularity as more amenities such as additional trees, seating, and a pavilion are
added.
The park seems to be taking off on its own in the meantime.
“There are people there all the time,”
Sullivan said.
She, Marcks, and Rosenberg have noticed steady traffic of about five to 10 visitors at any given time of day. Rosenberg also said that nearly 100 people and about 50 dogs turned out for the park’s grand opening on May 17.
But Waterford’s dog owners and their pooches are not the only ones enjoying the park.
Adjacent to Fountainview Care Center, many of the clients there can see the dog park from their windows, and can visit with the canines and their owners.
Across the street, Clark Lane Middle School students have also been able to enjoy the park while doing writing exercises for class.
For Sullivan, perhaps the most rewarding part of opening the park hasn’t been the rave reviews from those enjoying it, but the lack of criticism against the park.
Since its opening, “we haven’t received one complaint yet,” she said.
For more information on the dog park, for maps of the property, or to purchase a memory brick, visit the Recreation and Parks Department at 24 Rope Ferry Road, or 860-444-5881.