Scraps and Rags love each other at the dog park walk.
The bee was accepting donations.
On Sunday, October 19, 2007 Scraps and Rags, as well as Kathy and I, joined about 50 other people and dogs in a walk to support and find out information about Morris County’s newly proposed dog park. The Park Started at the Lutheran Trinity Church, just north of Franklin Street in Morris Plains. The plan was to meet at the church and walk about 0.7 miles through bucolic Morris Plains to the location of the new dog park in the new Morris County Central Park. This is the park that is being established at the new property Morris county obtained from the closed Greystone Psychiatric Campus. It is pretty exciting and that is why Kathy and I want to support it.
Scraps and Rags walking to the new dog park.
It was a beautiful autumn morning in Morris Plains. The trees were about a week past prime but due to the recent gorgeous weather, most of the colorful leaves were on the trees and not on the ground; and we do know that in Morris Plains the leaves inevitably fall to the ground. In parts of western Morris County some are trying to stop this inevitability.
The sheriff has some big a$s dogs
The dog park will be the responsibility and owned by the Morris County Park Commission but they still have to get the park raised up on their budgetary hierarchy so it is still some time away from opening but they have a site which is 90% of the battle. Dignitaries at the walk who I would like to thank for supporting the effort included Morris Plains, Mayor Frank Druetzler, Morris County Sheriff Ed Rochford, Morris County Freeholder John Murphy. Also there from the Morris County Family were Dave Helmer and Denise Lanza of the Park Commission and and the Park Commission’s chairman Judy Schliecher. Then let us not forget Morris County’s Recycling and Solid Waste Coordinators Kathleen Hourihan and your humble narrator Larry Gindoff. There were probably some others that I am forgetting but let us not forget the real stars of the show. The dogs and the beautiful setting for the park.
Build it and they will come. Come Rags. Come Scraps.
The walk started at the church and there must have been 40 dogs in all. Usually I would be embarrassed by Rags in that situation but Rags was on her best behavior and so were most of the dogs. I was impressed. It wasn’t until we sat down to listen to the speakers that Rags misbehaved when a dog or two came over to sniff where we were sitting. And even then, it wasn’t all that bad. I think it really helped that we walked at a fast pace from home to the dog walk and that probably tired out Rags a bit. I was even able to let Frank Druetzler walk Rags for a while and she handled that great. Scraps was on his usual best behavior.
Morris Plains Mayor Frank Druetzler walks Rags during the walk.
In the end kathy and I both donated money to the Morris County Park Alliance which is a non-porofit established to funnel money to the Morris County park system from some donners that cannot donate money directly to a governmental orginazation. It seems that the Park Commisson needs to generate some donated money to help fund the dog park and that will give them the ability to push it over the edge. Hey whatever it takes, thanks to all who are involved.
This was displayed at the dog walk.
Scraps & Rags K9 Blog 
Just found this site after Googling Proposed Dog Park in Greystone Park, NJ. We live on Old Dover Road, just a stone’s throw from Greystone and are ecstatic to hear about this. We just moved here from Madison after downsizing from a house with a doggy door to a fenced yard. We’ve grown accustomed to walking the dogs but would LOVE a park for them so close by.
Sandi
Francis P. Alai to MCDOG – November 11, 2009
Hellllooooo, MCDOG!!!!
BIG NEWS!!!
The new Canine Activity Center that we have been waiting for should be OPEN in the early Spring of 2010.
The site of the Park has been moved, however. At a meeting of the Dog Park Planning Committee, Morris County Park Commission Executive Director Dave Helmer discussed that site that had been designated for the Dog Park on Central Avenue across from the Miracle Ball Field and the Roller Hockey Rinks would be subject to some heavy construction activity over the next two years due to the development of the soccer fields to be placed adjacent to that site.
The BIG NEWS is that the move contemplates that the fencing will be installed by the Park Commission, thus relieving our fund raising effort of possibly the single largest line item. It is this factor that greatly accelerates the opening date of the facility.
The new site is also an “old” site – we are, once again, placed at the corner of Collins Road and Old Dover Road. This is an “elbow” shaped parcel of approximately 5.4 acres and is comprised of an undulating open field, many treed areas and a beautiful wooded pathway bordering Old Dover Road.
The design team includes Professor James Howard of County College of Morris and Susan Pady, a Project Manager on generous loan from the Engineering and Space Solutions Department Novartis, as well as your Top Dog and various community members, members of the Park Alliance and staff of the Park Commission. The Park Alliance has been in the lead of our fund raising efforts.
Persons interested sponsorship opportunities or making donations, should contact Park Alliance Chairman Bill Lawton at 973-631-5273, or go to http://www.parkalliance.net.
It’s great to be a dog in Morris County and it’s going to be even greater.
Top Dog