Hamden Dog Park at Bassett History

Advice on starting a dog park in your town. I have given the following advice to several people in Connecticut (and out-of-state):

You can read a bit about our process here http://www.hamdenrdog.org/speech.html and that may help. The best piece of advice I can give you is to get a group of interested citizens together to plan and lobby for a park. While your local Parks and Rec Dept and your local government can easily dismiss one or two people with a bright idea, it is much more difficult to dismiss a group, preferably large, of determined and well-informed people, especially if they get a lot of publicity in their local papers (write letters, get interviews, photos, etc.), hold fundraisers, pass out info, and so on. If you are really lucky, there might be an enlightened person at your Parks and Rec so that the initial persuasion would be reduced. By the way, it is better to pitch the idea as a place for people who have dogs than a place that dogs need.

I got a group started by writing letters to my local papers and inviting interested people to contact me. I also put together a small brochure and some business-size cards with a brief mission statement and contact info, which everyone in the group posted anywhere they could think of and dropped into neighbors' mailboxes, etc. You need to be inventive. Keep a record of everyone's contact info and begin an email list as soon as possible to save hours on the phone. Get other people to take over tasks like that. Meet regularly so you can plan strategy.

The other important piece of advice would be to try to get someone on the inside at Town Hall on your side. This can be invaluable - all sorts of hints, contacts, and info can come your way. We had the assistant director of Parks and Rec supporting us and helping us to find a suitable spot within the existing park land. He also helped us know what hoops we had to jump through - we had to make presentations to various town commissions that had to give permission for the project.

Best of luck! Do keep me informed if you get this off the ground - I love to hear of potential new dog parks in Connecticut. Veronica.

History of the Hamden Dog Park at Bassett

The Hamden Dog Park at Bassett, located at Waite Street and Ridge Road, had its Grand Opening on Sunday, October 6, 2002. Speakers included Mayor Carl Amento; Karen Hickerson, Veronica Soell, and Dawn Tiedemann, all representatives of the Hamden Responsible Dog Owners’ Group; and Martin Mador, member of the Hamden Natural Resources and Open Space Commission. Speech giving history here.

A happy crowd of people and their dogs enjoyed Bill Milford’s dog songs, the speeches, the leash-cutting ceremony, cake (for both dogs and people), warm, sunny weather, and the cheerful fall decorations. Most of all they enjoyed the freedom of allowing their dogs to run off-leash around the wooded one-acre fenced park, which features a trail, benches, picnic tables, Dogipot bag dispensers, a brick path and patio with engraved bricks, and a large notice board for both official and public use. Pictures here. Sketch of the park layout here (PDF).

SECOND ANNIVERSARY FALL FUNDRAISER on OCTOBER 2, 2004

We raised nearly $850 for park maintenance and improvements. Thanks to everyone who contributed dog biscuits, bandannas, and tag sale items, volunteered their time, or made other kinds of contributions. Please contact Veronica if you are interested in becoming involved in the organization and helping out with next spring's fundraiser. The Dogipot bags cost around $1000 per year so we must routinely raise at least that amount.

THE HAMDEN DOG PARK AT BASSETT CELEBRATES ITS FIRST ANNIVERSARY IN OCTOBER, 2003

Yes, the park has been providing a wonderful environment for people and their pets for a whole year! We have seen thousands of visits, many friendships formed, puppies socialized, overenergetic dogs calmed (and their owners exceedingly grateful) - the park has become a popular public space where visitors from near and far enjoy nature and the company of dogs and dog-friendly people.

On Sunday, October 5, 2003, we had a celebration and dedication of a plaque acknowledging the town officials, contributing businesses, and the Hamden Responsible Dog Owners' Group (Hamden R-DOG), without whom the park would not exist. Pictures here.

We welcomed Mayor Carl Amento, who issued a Proclamation honoring the one-year anniversary of the park, and other town officials to our celebration. Also participating were the New Haven Central Hospital for Veterinary Medicine, BarkBusters of Southern Connecticut, The Friends of New Haven Animal Shelter, The Hole Scoop icecream and donut store, Agway of North Haven, and Andrew Wallach Photography, among others. We thank all the many volunteers who baked, sewed, made jewelry, read tarot cards, and manned booths.

To raise funds we offered Dog Park T-Shirts, bandannas, home-made dog biscuits, frozen treats, etc., for sale. Several visitors made generous donations. Altogether we made $780 towards the ongoing expenses of the park.

Our plans to fund a water faucet in the park next spring have unfortunately fallen through, at least for now, but if enough park users show interest and are willing to help out, a separate entrance to the small dog area is a possibility.

Improving the quality of life in our town

Hamden R-DOG is a committee of Hamden Community Playground, Inc