BRADFORD, Vt. — The dog park wasn’t finished, but the party still started Saturday as dogs and humans alike gathered to celebrate an almost-complete pooch playground at Elizabeth’s Park.
The event featured several local food vendors, face painting by volunteers at the Bradford Teen Center, a “touch a truck” activity hosted by the Vermont National Guard, musical entertainment by local bands and a dog parade where pups of all breeds and sizes had the chance to show off their tricks on their best behavior.
The only thing missing was the finished dog park itself.
“We ran into really bad weather this week,” said town Parks and Recreation Commission member Jared Pendak, a former Valley News reporter. “There’s really probably only two workdays left.”
Still, pet parents and dogs have plenty of reason to wag. Once the park is ready for use, which should be in about a week, pups can enjoy a fenced-in off-leash play space, communal dog toys, a water bowl station, a dog obstacle course (humans can use it, too) and post-potty break waste disposal stations.
The Parks and Recreation Commission has been planning the 18,000-square-foot dog park project since last fall. It’ll include an 80-by-175-foot area for bigger dogs to play, along with a 40-by-100-foot area for smaller dogs.
The volunteer-led construction started about two weeks ago.
Elizabeth’s Park, which is located adjacent to Oxbow High School, was built in 1987 by volunteers and has been growing ever since.
Last year, a new pavilion was built at the park, after which a series of community forums identified public recreational spaces as a core target for improvement.
An independent community coalition was then formed to address the recreation spaces, Pendak said.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a noticeable shift in the number of dog owners in Bradford and beyond, Pendak said.
“Socialization is as important for dogs as it is their owners,” he said.
Brian and Christiane Carroll, of Corinth, along with Michael Wright, of Bradford, spearheaded the task force group that came up with the idea and worked on site planning for the new dog park. Another group is working to build a new skateboard park in town.
Fundraising for the dog park started last fall. With a $15,000 budget and no municipal funding, commission members primarily sought donations from small local businesses to cover construction costs. The Cohase Rotary Club and Elizabeth’s Park trustees also donated some money to the cause.
Matt Strong, a new Bradford resident and local musician, raised $1,600 in donations from a winter concert series that he held at his shop in town from February to May. When he moved to the area in February, Strong knew he wanted to get involved and give back to his new community in some way right off the bat.
Mika, Strong’s 9-year-old black Labrador, enjoyed the event on Saturday and is “one of the reasons I went with the dog park for a fundraiser,” Strong said. “She’s been on tour with me for most of her life,” he said.
Susan Tuller, owner of Bradford Veterinary Clinic, brought her two dogs to Saturday’s event and organized a free giveaway of dog toys and dog collars.
As a veterinarian, Tuller experienced the effects of the increase in pet owners — many for the first time — during and since the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I think there was a combination of people getting more pets and moving to the area,” she said.
Now that the pandemic has subsided, Tuller’s keeping an eye on the recently discovered canine respiratory illness that has started to spread in New England. A colleague’s dogs in Florida both have the disease, Tuller said.
“If there’s word of it being in the area, we’d have to be a little more cautious,” she said.
For Bradford locals, the new dog park is a huge enhancement to Elizabeth’s Park and the community.
“It’ll be good exercise for both of us,” said Dave Jalbert, owner of 3½-month-old American hunt terrier, Molly.
With no fenced-in yard at home, the new dog park will be a good place for the pair to come and get some energy out off-leash.
For Pete and Pam Timony, South Carolina locals and Newbury residents four months out of the year, the dog park is an exciting opportunity to take their 9-month-old Havanese, Pip, for a play date with other dogs.
“There are no dogs for (Pip) to play with (at home),” Pam Timony said. “And she needs the socialization.”
With the new dog park, the Parks and Recreation Commission hopes to attract out-of-towners to Elizabeth’s Park too, Pendak said.
“This is really a cherished destination,” he said. “We get visitors from all over the Upper Valley.”
Rose Terami can be reached at rosoterami@gmail.com.
CORRECTION: The Cohase Rotary Club donated funds to the new dog park at Elizabeth’s Park in Bradford. Michael Wright and Brian and Christiane Carroll are the task force group who started the work on the dog park. The skateboard park project is being developed by a separate group. An earlier version of this story had the incorrect name for the Rotary Club, did not include Wright’s name and attributed the skateboard park’s efforts to the wrong group.