It started with a Girl Scout troop and the belief that dogs like to run.
Now after a year of work, Bethel Cadette Troop 50711’s efforts to build a dog park in the old playground area at Meckauer Park are moving forward.
First Selectman Matt Nickerbocker said the park has received all the necessary approvals from town boards and commissions. All that’s left now is for the troop to raise the money to build it.
Katie Galvin, a member of Troop 50711, which is promoting the dog park to qualify for the Girl Scouts’ Silver Award, said the thought of having the park open in the spring is exciting.
“It’s great news,” Galvin said. “When we had the idea we didn’t know if it could actually happen. Now it will.”
The troop has raised $5,000 of the $10,000 it needs, much of it to erect a fence around the park, which will officially be called Bethel Bark Park.
The park will feature a mural with dog prints and the names of dogs and of dog owners who have donated to the project. There will be a few cats represented, too.
The troop has also made a YouTube video explaining why the park should be built:
Because dogs love to run.
Katie said the troop will continue raising money during the fall and winter. This weekend members will be around town selling dog bandanas.
“This has been a great learning process for the girls,” said Katie’s mother, Linn Galvin, who is a co-leader of the troop with Lisa Cohn. “They sat through a ton of the meetings.”
At those meetings the girls learned about the need for fencing around the park and a path suitable for accessed by the disabled. They were also versed on the need for benches, waste bag dispensers, trash containers and running water.
“Once the park is done, the town will take it over for maintenance and upkeep, “ Knickerbocker said.