October 2, 2017 at 3:43 p.m.
The dogs have their day: Organizers celebrate opening of long-awaited dog park
The dogs have their day: Organizers celebrate opening of long-awaited dog park
By Kayla Thomason-
A large group of dogs explored their new surroundings Saturday afternoon while their owners joined Spencer Insolia, president of Drs. Foster and Smith and members of Shepard Dog Park Group Inc. in celebrating the end of a long journey.
"I feel great for the community and I also feel great for Tina (Werres, of Shepard Dog Park Group, Inc.) because she's the one who really started it," Insolia said. "When I came here - my family moved here last year - we got introduced to Tina and she told us about how hard she's been working and we were happy to help out and give the final push."
Insolia said he knows that a group of dedicated people worked relentlessly for 10 years to make the dog park a reality, and he was happy that Drs. Foster & Smith could give them that extra push to reach that goal.
He said hopes that dog owners take advantage of the beautiful park.
"I think everyone should come out and try it out, it's been great, my dog has been playing in the dog park all morning and just a lot of people having a great time, we encourage the whole community to come take advantage of it," he said, adding that the large turnout far exceeded his expectations.
Werres was elated to see her dream finally come true.
"I'm just ecstatic, it's a lovely day, it's a great day," she said. "I'm proud of my community which is the village, it takes a village you know and that's the village that built this, and Rhinelander is a fine town with good people and it took us a little while but that's because we were getting it right."
"The turnout here today for this event has been wonderful, we filled the parking lots which has never happened," she added.
Werres said she's proud and thankful for all the volunteers and donor.
"It's one of the finest dog parks you're ever going to find, and I've visited a few," she said. "We have shade, we have sunshine, we have plenty of seating, you can come and have a picnic outside the fenced area."
She noted that there is a hiking and biking trail, as well as the ability to fish and kayak in close proximity to the dog park.
"It's a great tribute to our community, something for the community to be proud of and I'm proud to have been part of doing it," she said.
Tony Taylor, his son Samuel and their toy poodle Socks enjoyed the dog park.
Taylor said it was pleasant and pretty, and thinks the park is a wonderful amenity for Rhinelander.
"I think it's a good thing, there's lots of people with dogs with small yards and you can bring them to Pioneer Park but there isn't really an enclosed area like this where they can romp around, so this is a good thing," he said.
Valerie Pavlik and her lemon beagle Miles have been coming to the park for two weeks.
"So far I really like it," she said. "He's able to go in both of them and play with everybody, pretty much, because of his size."
Pavlik said she just moved to the Northwoods from Chicago and is excited there is a dog park in Rhinelander.
"If he catches a scent he'll just take off and we've been staying at our cabin and I was afraid to let him off leash (at the cabin)," she said.
As someone who is new to the area she said the dog park is also a nice place to meet people.
The Shepard Dog Park Group, Inc., will accept any donations and contributions, and they are looking for a corporate sponsor for a six-sided tree hugging bench (one has been donated by Ripco Credit Union, but they'd like a second one for the other section of the park).
They have 10 memorial benches between the large and small dog areas.
Anyone who would like to donate to the dog park can make checks out to the Shepard Dog Park Group Inc., and mail them to P.O. Box 1411 at the Rhinelander Post Office.
Werres can be reached at the Curran Professional Building at 315 S. Oneida Ave. during the daytime hours.
Kayla Breese may be reached at [email protected].
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