St. Stephen, N.B., opens first off-leash dog park

The municipal district of St. Stephen, N.B., now has a park just for pooches.

“They can run a lot and make new friends and stuff like that,” says an excited youngster Lorenza Drumm.

The Pet Valu Tails and Trails off-leash dog park is the first of its kind in the municipality. It’s something residents, both two and four-legged, have been wagging their tails in excitement over.

“It is just a dream come true for so many people,” says St. Stephen resident Mary Armstrong. “So many have worked so hard for it and I’m delighted that the dogs can come and am surprised and happy they are all getting along so well.”

The municipal district held a ribbon cutting ceremony on Monday to unveil the highly anticipated dog park.

The 780 linear foot enclosed space is located within the Elm Street Nature Reserve, and has two separate areas so both big and small dogs can enjoy the space simultaneously.

The project costs $40,000, with half of that money being raise by the St. Stephen Dog Club and the municipality. The additional $20,000 was donated by Pet Valu.

Former Councillor Phil Chisholm played a big role in getting the fenced in facility up. He says three different locations were optioned, but none compared to the seclusion of the nature reserve.

“We are far enough off the beaten path that we’re not going to interfere with any citizens,” Chisholm says. “There shouldn’t be any complaints whatsoever as far as noise and that goes.”

“It’s a safe place to bring your dogs and allow them to play and interact with other dogs and do whatever dogs do,” says St. Stephen Mayor Allan MacEachern. “It’s all about safety and providing a service top the community.”

Mayor MacEachern credits area residents for making the park a reality nearly four years after the idea was first proposed at council.

“The exciting part is the people that get together and really want something and see a need for something in the community,” “You’ve met many of them this morning, they all put in all their efforts to make this a reality and bring this to our community.”

Now that the park is up, residents plan on pawing over with their pooches’ every chance they get.

“Probably two or three times a week,” says Armstrong when asked how often she will bring her dog out to the fenced in park.

“Probably every week,” Laura Drumm says. “We don’t live far so I think we are going to be here very often.”

“It’s really cool to have a dog park because we didn’t have one before,” beams Nicholas Drumm. “So it’s really good for dogs and stuff.”

Officials say the park is still a work in progress, with areas for upgrades already having been identified following opening day.

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