FERGUS – A group of Centre Wellington dog owners want to expand their local dog park, but they'll need the help of the community and council to do it.
In anticipation of the new dogs that will come with the future development planned for the township, the Centre Wellington Dog Owners Group (CWDOG) is working on a proposal for council to set aside funding to grow the Fergus Dog Park onto a neighbouring property when they update the Parks, Recreation and Culture Master Plan this spring.
A piece of privately-owned land that effectively doubles the park's size, the neighbouring field is adjacent to the land and owned by the Reeves family, who currently allow dogs to roam the property and access a nearby pond.
"It's a joyful sight for anyone to see these dogs play at the park," said Kelsye Coulter, a member of CWDOG whose border collie uses the park every day. "Our dog actually used to go by herself in the mornings if we didn't go fast enough and we'd find her sitting at the parking lot waiting for someone to throw a ball."
According to Coulter, the idea to purchase the land came to fruition after the community came out in droves to support the park during several meetings about a multi-use path planned as a part of the North Fergus Business Park where the town "assured" the group it wouldn't interfere with the pond access.
Located on Glengarry Crescent, Coulter said the park's hilly property is largely maintained by volunteers and attracts hundreds of visitors a day both local and from across the region – especially on weekends, when it's common to see the parking lot "at capacity."
But while Coulter said the Reeves are open to selling the property for the park's use, the project would take a lot of fundraising and the group feels it would make more sense for the township to purchase the land like they did when the dog park was first established.
"Right now the park itself never feels crowded (even with new users) but that's because we can use the Reeves' field," said Coulter. "The dog park would suffer if the land that is currently in use ... was taken away."
The only off-leash dog park in Centre Wellington, suggestions for an off-leash dog park in Elora have also begun to float around, especially as it becomes more common to see dogs roaming Bissel Park freely.
However, while Coulter believes there is a need for an off-leash park in Elora, she suggested the township invest in its current space rather than spending the money on something new and risking the majority of folks still heading to Fergus.
"Even when Fergus was a much smaller town, this land was always used as a place for dogs to hang out and it's evolved into a great space," said Coulter. "It's just a really lovely dog park."
Isabel Buckmaster is the Local Journalism Initiative reporter for GuelphToday. LJI is a federally-funded program.
