Dog park enlists new volunteers to keep popular spot for pups open
By Megan Schneider | Community News ServiceVolunteers who oversee the popular canine-friendly corner gathering spot near the Waterbury Ice Center have a message for local dogs and their humans: Have no fear, the Waterbury Unleashed Dog Park is (still) here.
A pack of canines and their humans enjoy a snowy visit to the Waterbury Unleashed Dog Park recently. Photo by Gordon Miller
That’s important now that the group has had a resurgence with new members dedicated to committing their time and energy to the park’s upkeep.
In October, the Waterbury Unleashed Dog Park Committee announced the park would be closing indefinitely starting in November due to a lack of volunteers.
“Three members of the committee are moving out of the area and therefore, there are not enough staff to effectively manage the park,” park committee Chair Abby Teel wrote in a letter to the community.
The announcement received an overwhelming response, and Teel convened a meeting in late October with a goal to reorganize and reenergize the park’s committed core volunteer group. Suzanne Whitney, who has been bringing her 2-year-old chocolate Labrador retriever Ruby to the park every week for over a year, said she came to realize how great the park was and wanted to help.
“I started doing some maintenance of removing overgrowth from the fence over the summer, as regular maintenance at the park was not happening,” Whitney said. “A friend and I reached out to the [dog park committee] to find more info about how to volunteer.”
That is when she found out there were only four active Waterbury Unleashed Dog Park – WUDP for short – committee members, all of whom were planning to move on and, therefore the group needed replacements.
“If no one stepped up to the plate to help out, the feeling was the park would need to close,” Whitney said.
At the October meeting, Whitney was one of 40 attendees. Afterward, about 20 people signed up to be volunteers. Their next steps were to organize groups to spread out the workload. Four committees were created with the categories being Operations, Development, Communications, and Maintenance.
Dog park rules are posted at the park. Photo courtesy Waterbury Unleashed
Whitney volunteered to lead the Communications/Social Media Committee and is a part of helping facilitate public involvement and understanding about the mission of the WUDP, posting graphics and creating signage about events and fundraisers, and managing the Facebook page and other social media platforms.
Other lead volunteers of the committees are Katherine Jo Nopper for Maintenance, Carla Francis for Development, and Mellie Maceachern as Volunteer Coordinator. The group currently is seeking someone to lead the Operations effort.
Whitney explained how Maceachern in her new role sent out a volunteer survey to those who signed up to help. After responses were collected and individual interests and time commitments were understood, each subcommittee met in November.
Whitney said they are still working out the number of volunteers for each committee, their goals, and the project needs, which will get sorted out after the holidays. Even so, they have made progress since the scare of indefinite closure in October.
“I think the park means a lot to the people using it and to the people that worked so hard to get it created and opened up,” Whitney said. “It serves as a wonderful community offering to both locals and visitors needing a safe place to bring their dogs to play.”
A detailed list is also posted on the park fence. Waterbury currently does not have an Animal Control Officer. Contact Waterbury Unleashed via email at wudpvt@gmail.com. Courtesy photo
Whitney said that community members interested in getting involved or just in using the park should watch for more communications after the holidays around promoting volunteer interest and fundraising.
“We are working on improved signage to raise public awareness regarding park rules, our mission statement, how to help, and what to expect when visiting,” she said.
Although the park never technically closes, there is no lighting at the park making it suited for daytime use. Users should bundle up on winter days as the breeze off the Winooski River nearby can add to the chill. “I was there today with crampons due to ice,” she said early this week.
“Most important, is that people understand they are at the park at their own risk, so it is highly advisable that people bring well-behaved, friendly dogs. No babies or children under the age of 10, no puppies 4 months or younger.”
Users should know that maintenance committee members are tasked with shoveling around the park gates after a snowfall, so that should occur soon after winter storms.
For more information, see the Waterbury Unleashed Dog Park Facebook page; email is wudptvt@gmail.com.
Saint Michael's College senior Megan Schneider is with Community News Service, a collaboration with the University of Vermont’s Reporting & Documentary Storytelling program.