CHERRY HILL – A ceremony announcing construction of a dog park here drew applause from its audience — and some barking, too.
The $775,000 project will be a big improvement over a smaller dog park that hosted pets for years at Cooper River Park, according to Camden County officials.
They say the new park, to be completed in about 10 weeks, will have separate fenced areas for large and small dogs , as well as agility equipment.
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It also will offer a pavilion, picnic benches, parking lot improvements and other infrastructure upgrades.
Cherry Hill dog park offers alternative site
The park's users can turn during the construction period to a dog park run by Cherry Hill at the township's Croft Farm, officials said.
The original dog park, already uprooted, “has been well loved … but we felt it was time for an upgrade,” said Commissioner Jeffrey Nash, liaison to the Parks Department.
Nash was accompanied by Hector, a miniature pinscher rescued years ago after a Texas hurricane and one of 30 animals owned by the commissioner.
Cherry Hill Councilwoman Sangeeta Doshi attended the event with two dogs — Nala, a Siberian husky, and Charlie, a husky/German shepherd mix.
“Our dogs need a place to socialize and we need to socialize, too,” she said of the dog park. “It's community.”
In fact, Doshi noted she launched her political career at Nash's urging after meeting the commissioner for the first time at the former dog park.
And Thomas Masullo, a Collingswood man dubbed the park's unofficial “mayor,” said the facility had provided a valuable service during pandemic shutdowns.
“We were able to build a safe and inclusive space for anyone who wanted to come out,” he said in a speech punctuated by occasional woofs from his goldendoodle, Connor.
“We were able to bond and build friendships,” he said. “It's something that during a difficult time helped each and every one of us.”
Construction crews worked on the new park during the Oct. 12 ceremony.
A front-end loader, perched high atop a mound of dirt, fed topsoil into a dump truck. Workers wielded shovels and other tools at the other end of the site at 1000 Park Boulevard.
The canine attraction is part of Parks Alive 2025, a $100 million plan to improve Camden County's 24 parks, conservation areas and waterways.
Jim Walsh is a senior reporter with the Courier-Post, Burlington County Times and The Daily Journal. Email: Jwalsh@cpsj.com.
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