April 8, 2020

We are sad to let you know that the board of the Woodbridge Dog Park Cooperative has decided to close the dog park until further notice.

Since its opening in December 2019, the dog park has been a wonderful place for dogs and owners alike to gather and build a sense of community. This has continued even during this pandemic, providing a source of comfort to many during this stressful time.

Our efforts to keep the dog park open and safe have been many. We established a group of volunteer ambassadors who have monitored the park several times a day to ensure that it was being kept clean and that the posted rules were followed. They also worked with dog owners to establish safe behavior. Even before social distancing became a mandate, we were working hard to be proactive by establishing best practices for the dog park through regular communication with the Town and appropriate professionals – including local veterinarians who visited and observed the dog park in action. We also followed guidance from health experts on risk factors for passive recreation areas. As the situation evolved and new information was discovered, we revised the safety protocols and posted this information on our Facebook page and signage at the dog park.

While we are proud of the efforts we have made to maintain the safety of the dog park during this pandemic, we cannot be at the park every hour of the day to ensure that all are conscientiously following the rules to protect their own health and the health of others. Thus, for the safety of everyone using the park and the entire community, we made the decision to close the park for the foreseeable future.

This will not last forever. We look forward to welcoming you back to the dog park. In the meantime, please be well and stay safe.

Best Regards,

Officers of the Woodbridge Dog Park Cooperative

Bonnie Blake, Nicole Donzello, Mary Beth Womer, and Michelle Ditzian

The Woodbridge Dog Park, a private endeavor brought to life through the enthusiasm and persistence of a group of dog lovers, is now open to be used as a safe enclosure to let dogs run off-leash and enjoy each other’s company. It is located on the Fitzgerald Tract at the corner of Center and Beecher roads.

When Orange Fence put the finishing touches on the enclosure in mid-December, many dog owners and their four-legged friends were chomping at their bits to pass the gate and try out the park, said Bonnie Blake, president of the Dog Park Cooperative (WDPC). But the locks did not come off until the rules were up and clearly posted, she said. Judging from Facebook entries, the park has been warmly received, not only from dog owners, but also others using the walking trails.

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Our volunteers got together on a beautiful early fall day and started to clear the land around the rink.

But we need approximately $10,000 in addition to what we already raised to hire a professional to remove the asphalt in an environmentally safe manner.

Help us bring back the green by donating to the dog park.

To demonstrate their support for our dog park, Grimaldi’s generously donated 10% of all food and beverages purchased by our group and then matched the amount with an additional donation! They have also offered to host more events in the future to help build the dog park – so stay tuned as we would love to have you join us.

With this successful evening, we have now reached more than 80% of our goal.  Your donation now, big or small, will enable us to open our park this fall.

Donation options

The entire community was invited to join friends and fellow dog lovers for a fundraising walk-a-thon to support the construction of the first dog park in Woodbridge.  At least 65 mutts of all shapes and sizes lead their humans on a leisurely 2K stroll around Town Center and the site of our future dog park on the 139-acre Fitzgerald Property.

Afterwards these talented pups competed in games of skill including doggie musical chairs – played with hula hoops, the high-jump contest, and more – accompanied by some dog-friendly tunes spun by our favorite MC Brenden Fimian.

While the 4-legged critters enjoyed special treats, 2-legged creatures with and without pooches enjoyed a delicious assortment of food donated by Grimaldi’s and Amity Meats as well as home-baked goods prepared by Catherine Ray. Water was supplied by Trader Joe’s.  Please join us in thanking these local businesses for their generosity.

We shared the celebration of spring with other community organizations including the Garden Club’s plant sale, the Friends of the Woodbridge Library’s book sale, and Earth Day/Rid Litter Day information booths.

The day proved to be a tremendous success not only in bringing us closer to our goal of building our dog park this year, but also in bringing friends and neighbors together for a beautiful day. We want to thank all who helped make this happen with generous donations of food and beverages, their valuable time and talents, and money. Numerous Town departments and organizations deserve special appreciation for helping us create this wonderful community event including: the Woodbridge Fire Department, Police Department, Parks and Recreation – especially John Adamovich and Eric, as well as Mark and the custodial services team, and Betsy Yagla representing the Office of the First Selectman.

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A huge thank you to these area businesses which contributed gift cards or baskets to this fundraiser:

1. Affordable Personal Services and Pet Care
2. Agway
3. Amethyst Lounge, LLC
4. Amity Fitness
5. Amity Garden Center
6. Amity Wine and Spirits, Co.
7. Amity Meat Center
8. Andes International Gourmet Deli
9. Bethany Veterinary Hospital
10. The Better Beagle Co.
11. Blue Check Deli
12. Ceci’s Nails and Spa
13. Chewy.com
14. The Clay Date
15. Country Companions Veterinary Services
16. Deli Delish and Catering
17. Ferni’s Barbershop
18. FitPro Personal Training Studios
19. Grimaldi’s Coal Brick-Oven Pizzeria
20. Happy Homes Dog Daycare and Training
21. Heav’nly Donuts
22. I Heart Dogs
23. JCC of Greater New Haven
24. JumpStart My Wellness
25. Katz’s Delicatessen
26. Lock, Stock, & Barrel
27. Lucky Soul Tattoo, Woodbridge
28. Material Girls of Orange, CT
29. Mickey Blake’s Cigar Lounge
30. New England Brewing
31. Nail Boutique of Woodbridge
32. Niko’s Ice Cream
33. Pet Supplies Plus Orange, CT
34. Pet Valu (Milford)
35. Salon 1768
36. Safari Stan’s Pet Center
37. Starbucks (Woodbridge)
38. Sticky Paws Grooming
39. Stray Tees
40. Sunflower Farm of Orange
41. Tipsy Tomato Pizzeria, Derby
42. The Plastic Forming Company
43. The Red Barn of Woodbridge
44. The Write Approach
45. Woodbridge Hardware
46. Woodbridge Running Company
47. Woodbridge Social
48. Woodbridge Veterinary Hospital
49. Zuppardi’s Apizza

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The Woodbridge Community of dog lovers lost one of their own recently when Robert Schulz passed away on Nov. 27 at the age of 70.

According to his obituary, Bob was a retired attorney who also enjoyed a professional life that included being a chemical engineer, a maple syrup entrepreneur, and an “enthusiastic dog sitter”. According to his family, Bob never met at dog he didn’t like.

And, as we all know, anyone who is a devoted dog lover, must be a great person!

The Schulz Family asked that Bob be remembered by donations to the Woodbridge Dog Park in his name. We couldn’t be more honored by this loving and generous gesture.

Our First Event: The First Annual Great PUPkin Fest was a huge success. As part of the Town’s month-long Fallapalooza, the PUPkin Fest was held on the Woodbridge Green on a fine fall day and brought together friends and neighbors and lots of happy kids and dogs for a day filled with fun, games, food, and puppy kisses.

Proud dog owners paraded their creatively-costumed pooches before our team of illustrious judges: First Selectman Beth Heller; Police Chief Frank Cappiello; and District Animal Control Officer Karen Lombardi. We saw a tiny dog masquerading as a spider, medium dogs passing as dinosaurs or sporting a back full of Slinkys, a large dog showing her wild side as a fierce lion, plus dogs dressed as Chia pets, tacos and a Puppacino. There are so many really creative dog owners in town! Special thanks to these three community leaders for supporting the Dog Park and ensuring that everyone felt like a winner, despite the stiff competition!

Orange Police Officer Chris Brown put on an amazing show with his CT Olympic-winning K-9, Loki, a beautiful Shepherd, leaving many of us to wish he could teach our pups a few tricks. We’re grateful that Chris is ready to return next year. Local businesses showed their support for our dog park by providing information, gifts, pedicures and by reinforcing our message of responsible dog ownership.

The Kissing Booths were a huge success thanks to the creative designs by local Brownie Troop 60241 and Girl Scout Troop 65 and our cute pups Whammo and Louie.

While their humans got their faces painted and enjoyed great food at the Fire Dog and Four Flours food trucks, canines performed tricks for their treats and lapped up PUPkin Lattes.

We are already planning our next PUPkin Fest for Fall 2019– which will be even bigger and better with your help!

A special thanks to the Woodbridge Board of Selectmen for permitting us to use the Town Green for this event, Betsy Yagla for helping us to navigate the process and promote our event through the Fallapalooza website, Woodbridge Rec for the tables and chairs, and a great big shout out to Mark, the custodian for the event.

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