BANGOR, Maine — Whether they have a bone to pick with it or just want to sit and speak about the effort to build the Bangor Dog Park, members of the public will have a chance to meet with organizers Wednesday evening.
“The main portion of this is the question-and-answer session,” said Dawnette Carver, Bangor Dog Park administrator. “We’ll give a short presentation of what we’re working on with our short-term and long-term goals and invite people to ask questions or share comments.”
Carver said the primary purpose of the meeting is to address any lingering concerns and debunk any misconceptions about the park.
“This effort is all-volunteer and it’s all self-funding. This won’t cost any taxpayer money to build and maintain,” said Carver, one of 10 regular volunteer park group members.
“We’re all very dedicated to this effort,” Carver said. “This group has only been together for a year, but we’ve already accomplished a lot.”
The group is aiming to raise $70,000 in all and needs at least $50,000 to build the basic park framework and fence it all in. The goal is to break ground on the park this summer and have it ready for use by late summer.
Two months ago, the Bangor City Council approved the group’s plan to relocate a .85-acre dog park from the old railroad roundhouse property at the end of Dutton Street near the Penobscot River to the Essex Woods property off Watchmaker Street, near the P.A.L. Center building. An adjoining 50-by-120-foot training yard will be next to the basketball court.
So far, the group has raised about $7,000.
“Our goal for this summer is just to get the fencing up and get the basic park open,” said Carver. “Eventually we’d like to put in benches, agility equipment to train dogs, and also some picnic tables on the outside of the fences.”
The meeting will be held at 6 p.m. Wednesday at Mary Snow School. Tracy Willette, Bangor Parks and Recreation director, will provide an overview of the project.
According to dog park group members, this park will be the only one to serve eastern Maine and Greater Bangor.
Please Please Please read this article before taking your dog to a dog park.
http://leerburg.com/dogparks.htm
Nice link Mike. Thank you. Once again it comes down to stupid dog owners. It’s not the dogs fault. I took my dogs to rivers, lakes and the ocean. IF there were any other dogs around I leashed them up.
The dogs only reflect what the owner has raised them like. We have some hiking trails around here and our main problem is that the owners think the rules don’t apply to them. Their Fido or Fifi wouldn’t harm a fly. They let their pet off the leash and they don’t have control.
I had one owner that let his dog off and the next thing he knew his dog was coming after mine. I pulled out my spray and let loose. The owner threatened me with a lawsuit and I gave him my lawyers name and number. Several days later my lawyer called and asked what happened. After he heard what the circumstances were he said don’t worry about it. The laws are clearly posted that your pet is to remain on a leash at ALL times. In fact the law says if you are walking you dog off your property then the dog MUST be leashed at all times.
I don’t bother with dog parks anymore because of stupid owners.
How can you relocate it from the roundhouse site when it was never there?
Any dog park should be located far away from people so that those people do not have to smell it. Also, there should be a fence so dogs can not get out.