Four-legged friends frolic at park’s grand opening
Morgan Hill – From the tiniest Chihuahua to the greatest Great Dane, more than 100 dogs strained at their leashes and voiced their displeasure at the wait for the humans to finish their speeches before their park was officially opened Saturday morning.
Once the red ribbon was officially cut on the new 1.5-acre park for canines, located at the southeast corner of Community Park on Edmundson Avenue, the dogs, accompanied by their people, proceeded on leash in an orderly fashion through the spring gate into the staging area. Once inside the fenced “big dog area” and “small dog area” however, all restraint was gone as they frolicked, frisked, romped, pranced, capered and cavorted, leash-free.
“They just loved it,” said Sterling’s and Amber’s people, Patty and Paul.
The well-behaved Golden Retrievers, Sterling and Amber, will be frequently visiting the park, Patty said. Sterling and Amber are not Morgan Hill residents, but they had no problem mixing with the natives.
Former Mayor Dennis Kennedy’s small black-and-white pooch named Nika was interested in sniffing along the fence line to find a likely spot to dig.
“It’s been an amazing effort,” Kennedy said. “A lot of people have worked very hard to make this happen.”
Four-and-a-half-year-old Saydie, an elegant mixed breed, who will be visiting the park often, “encouraged” her person, LuAnn Hood, to get involved with the effort.
“I’ve just helped where and when I could,” she said. “There are so many people who have devoted a lot of time to this. And look at it, it’s certainly going to be appreciated.”
Commenting on Morgan Hill Dog Owners Group (D.O.G.) Chairwoman Gloria Zufall’s admonishments to the crowd about safety, people taking responsibility for their dogs while in the park, Hood said Saydie has been visiting dog parks in San Jose for two years and has never been attacked by another dog.
“She just loves to run off the leash and socialize,” Hood said. “I don’t think (dog fights) are going to be problems here, because the people who will come will control their pets, and the dogs will get used to being around other dogs.”
Morgan Hill Police Department Animal Control Officer Daniel Pina thinks the park will have an added benefit for the city because people who may be tempted to let their dogs run off leash now have a legal place to do so.
“I think it will alleviate problems in other parts of the city,” he said. “This is such a good thing. I’ll keep an eye on it, of course. I already come by the park twice a day on my regular patrol, but I’ll come to take a look and make sure everyone’s behaving.”
Neither the cold temperatures nor the fog could keep the dog lovers away Saturday, and the crowd included many people without dogs who came out to wish organizers well, including City Manager Ed Tewes, Councilmember Greg Sellers and Mayor Steve Tate and his wife, Jennifer.
Zufall was exuberant as she addressed the crowd waiting for the ribbon cutting, thanking all who had been involved in the efforts over the years and exhorting a loud “woof woof” from the crowd in praise for each person and organization she named.
The grassroots D.O.G. organization has raised $27,000 for the project since May 2005 and the Morgan Hill City Council added $20,000 in August. The city also showed its support for the dog park by reserving the land for the park, which will operate from sunrise to sunset.
Marilyn Dubil covers education and law enforcement for The Times. Reach her at (408) 779-4106 ext. 202 or at md****@mo*************.com
