Nashua Dog Owners Group - Bringing an Off Leash Dog Park to Nashua, New Hampshire

February 27, 2005

The Telegraph - Nashua, NH

A different spot in the city is going to the Nashua DOG

The weekly pooch playgroup that hundreds of local dog owners hope is a precursor for an official Nashua dog park is moving to a new location beginning next month.

Held since last summer in a fenced-in field at Mine Falls Park, the playgroup, which runs from 9-11 a.m. Sundays, will start meeting at a similar field next to the new Bellavance Beverage headquarters at 120 Northwest Blvd. on Sunday, March 6.

The dogs and their owners need to lay off the Mine Falls field for at least two months to allow city park crews to properly prepare the grass for spring, according to Bill Soubosky , a vice president of the newly formed Nashua Dog Owners Group, which oversees the weekly playgroups.

"We're very pleased the Bellavance stepped forward for us - it's a nice gesture," Soubosky said, adding he believes several members of the family own dogs.

A group of dog owners formed Nashua DOG in 2004 with the eventual goal of raising public! and political support for a full-fledged dog park within the city. As that process grinds forward, more and more owners are bringing their dogs to the weekly playgroup for socialization and exercise.

Soubosky said there are about 7,500 dogs registered in Nashua, and the playgroup has seen as many as 150 at one time - making a good case for a city dog park.

The group will continue to meet on the same day at the same time. Northwest Boulevard is off Amherst Street near the south Merrimack line; the field is next to the Bellavance building just past Celina Avenue.

As before, new visitors are asked to provide proof of their dogs' vaccinations. Donations are welcome but not required, and visitors can sign a Nashua DOG mailing list.

Soubosky doesn't know whether the playgroup will return to Mine Falls, but he said everyone's hope is that hundreds of city canines can paw and bite their way through a grand-opening ribbon at a real dog park before year's! end. For more information, e-mail Soubosky at sobesdad@aol.com.