SATURDAY, MAY 15, 2010

The RDOG Spring Dog Park Cleanup will be held Saturday May 15 from 9 - 11 AM. If there is heavy rain we will postpone until Sunday May 16.

The Dog Park will be closed to anyone not volunteering to help out. Those working may bring their dogs if they can watch and work at the same time. The park will reopen after 11 AM.

We need volunteers, a pick up truck for gravel (1 or 2), wheelbarrows (3-5), metal rakes for gravel (3-4), and many shovels. Free RDOG T-Shirts for all who attend.

We have requested a half load of gravel from the city, it may already be there.

Signs have been put up in the Dog Park announcing the 2 hour closure on Saturday.

R-DOG MEETING,
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 14, 2010

The April 14 RDOG meeting at the Town Hall went smoothly. We started with good news! The revised plan to encourage the use of member supplied poop bags reduced our consumption of paid bags low enough that we came out in the black since the autumn meeting. We were in the red for many years in a row.

A few fund raiser ideas were discussed as noted. The sponsor program was discussed. Five Guys Restaurant would like to raise funds for us. A non-Hamden RDOG member presented a fund raising proposal for us to promote his energy company and receive a portion of the proceeds.

The North Haven Dog Park progress was discussed.

The meeting notes are below.
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The meeting opened at 7pm with 7 people present. The minutes of the October meeting were read.
Financial Reports: Ann Levison submitted a written report. Costs have dramatically dropped due to using recycled bags at the park. Balance on 4/7/10 was $4,859.94

Work Party October 2009 was held and chips distributed. Benches have all been repaired by Leo.

Another complaint about unsupervised dogs was received and forwarded to Park and Rec. They contacted the Animal Control Officer who has been stopping by the park. The police have also been asked to stop by. Another incident which led to an argument in the park led to the police being called.

An offer of a weed wacker was received. It was decided that we could use this, but not store it at the park. The owner will be asked to bring it to the work party.

Fundraising ideas: Five Guys Burgers and Fries has offered to donate a percentage of their income for an evening. A sponsor of the park program has been proposed. Possible areas to display sponsor posters were discussed. A portion of the current bulletin board or a separate cabinet were discussed. A representative of Starion Energy, a new electricity supplier, proposed a fundraising idea. A portion of participant's electric bills would be given to our group. The group decided to investigate this idea more. The company has only been licensed for a few weeks. 

The holes in the parking lot have been reported to the town.

Spring Cleanup Day: to be held May 15 from 9-11. Rain date will be May 16. We will close the park to outside dogs. T-shirts will be given to participants. Wood chips will be distributed. A truck and wheelbarrows are needed. Gary will ask the town to deposit a small pile of small gravel. The walkway will be refreshed. The back corner needs to be cleaned up. Weeds will be pulled. 

The North Haven Dog Park is in planning stages. They have chosen a spot and are plotting out the park. East Windsor has raised $12,500 for their park. The Windsor park is done and open. West Hartford is looking at 5 sites. Rocky Hill has raised $26,000 of their goal of $40,000. 

The meeting ended at 8:15pm.

Dawn Tiedemann

MARCH, 2010

We got word that a 4" gap in the small dog area gate allowed a tiny 7-lb dog to escape into the parking lot (no harm done, fortunately).

Leo has fixed this problem. Thank you, Leo, for all you do at the park.

PICTURES FROM OCTOBER, 2009, WORK PARTY

Thanks to everyone who responded to our recent appeal for contributions. This money, plus the reduction in Dogipot use due to visitors using the shopping bags from the IKEA bag holders, mean that we can continue funding the Dogipot bags for the next few months.

Thanks also to Leo for repairing the benches at the park.

Leo's photos of happy dogs and willing workers are here. And you noticed that we have a new front page photo above. Credit to him for that one too - how did he get the dogs to sit and smile so beautifully? That's Leo's secret!

WE ARE ON YOUTUBE!

A friend has made a video about the Hamden Dog Park and a recent fundraiser at TwoSmilingDogs in Hamden. Watch it on YouTube.
Thanks, Steve!

Here are a few more from the snowy park in January 2009:
One, two, three
Thanks, TQ!

ANIMAL SHELTER UPDATE AND REPORT FROM THE SPRING MEETING OF R-DOG ON APRIL 2, 2008

Occasionally a particular dog and owner cause problems at the park, such as: the dog attacks other dogs but the owner refuses to take responsibility, despite the posted park rules that state that dogs must be under the owner's control at all times and aggressive dogs are not permitted (please review the full list of rules here). In addition, whether an incident occurs on private or public property, state law makes clear that owners are responsible for any and all damage caused by their dogs to people, property, or other dogs - i.e., if another dog injures your dog and your dog needs professional attention, the other owner should pay your vet bill.

Although, fortunately, such incidents are rare, if you encounter a problem like this, you should report it immediately to the Hamden Animal Control Officer (203 230-4080) or the police (911). Try to get the name of the offending owner, or at least the vehicle licence plate number.

This is a good moment to remind you to carry your dog's leash while in the park (also a posted rule) so that you can quickly leash your dog in case of a scuffle and walk away to another part of the park while things cool down.