A doggone good day in Glen Cove

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Man’s best friend finally has a new place to run free in Glen Cove — the new dog park in Dennis Brian Murray Park. Under sunny skies on Sunday, dogs of all sizes and their owners and families gathered to celebrate the park’s opening, complete with raffles, free dog treats and toys. 

Before the dog park was completed, only dogs on leashes were allowed in the park. Last fall, after the closing of Garvies Point due to construction, a group of dog owners, led by Maribeth Graf, formed the Glen Cove Dog Park Committee. The group requested that the city create an area where dogs could exercise and interact off-leash. “It was a dream to see that the city was very receptive to this, and they put this up in record time,” said committee member Gabor Karsai. 

The park consists of two fenced-off areas for large and small dogs to roam free. Thanks to the city and the Dog Park Committee’s GoFundMe efforts, there are waste bag dispensers and receptacles, benches, a water spigot, leash posts and newly planted trees. 

“It’s nice to have a place to go where the dogs can play,” said Maria Rodriguez as her 7-month-old French bulldog, Romeo, ran around her. 

The park’s sponsors included North Coast Subaru, Mario Fischetti and Sons Nursery, Michael’s Dog Pack, Dan’s Dog Walking and Valley Sports. To help raise money for a shade structure, sod and agility equipment, a raffle was held, with prizes that included gifts from Green Forest Veterinary, East Norwich Veterinary, Hair Above, The View Grill, Delicious Pizza, Downtown Café, Vito’s Restaurant, Scoopy Do, Glen Cove Beer, Bagel Café, Garvies Point Brewery, Kanine Capital Inc., Strong Island Styles and Gold Coast Realty. 

Glen Cove resident Ro Pizziatolla said she doesn’t own a dog, but loves bringing her 3-year-old grandson Dominic to the park to watch the dogs play and give out treats. “We’re down here all the time,” she said. “He loves to come down and just sit and watch the dogs.”

“When we started on this venture, many people said we were barking up the wrong tree,” joked Mayor Reggie Spinello. “This project from Day One has really been a success. The demand was here, the residents spoke, and we reacted.” 

State Assemblyman Charles Lavine, County Legislator Delia DeRiggi-Whitton and several Glen Cove city officials came out with their own pets to try out the park and show their support. 

“It think it’s great — it’s a great use of space,” said Alexandra Rivera, who brought her 8-month-old dog Luna out for her first communal canine experience. “It’s really nice to see it as a nice community space, as opposed to an empty kid hangout. And they have the park and the playground — we were saying we need another little enclosed space for the moms!”

To donate to the park for new equipment, visit https://glencovedogpark.wixsite.com/mysite.