Eisenhower Park dog run is on the way

“It’s hard anytime you’re dealing with bureaucracy, with the county, to get anything done,” said Christine Laubis, of East Meadow, a volunteer for the Long Island Dog Owners Group, or LI-DOG, who spearheaded the planning of a dog run at Eisenhower Park. The nonprofit group has been advocating for dog parks since 1998.

Though Laubis has dreamed of having a grassy plot of land where her now 5-year-old rescue mix, Casey, could run freely since 2007, she did not begin meeting with county officials until last year. Since then, she has met with them a number of times, most recently last month, and as a result of her efforts, the Eisenhower Park dog run is expected to open in late summer or fall.

Once planned for this spring, the project has been delayed, thanks in large part to county layoffs. “Their staff has been decimated by budget cuts,” said Laubis.

Richard Infield, another LI-DOG volunteer who advocated for a dog run in Valley Stream that will open next month, added, “I do believe that they desperately want to open a dog run, and I think that will happen this year.”

Infield said that one possible location for the Eisenhower Park run is near Salisbury Park Drive and Stewart Avenue, close to a 30-car parking lot and basketball courts. “We had worked with the county for several months to look for a site,” he said. “It’s a spectacular location for a dog run.”

The run would include two fenced, grassy areas for small and large breeds, several water fountains, doggy bag dispensers, garbage receptacles and shelter from the elements. Infield said that the county budgeted more than $100,000 for the project.

The Eisenhower Park run would actually be the eighth dog run in Nassau County (see box, page 10). “[County Executive Ed] Mangano is a pretty dog-friendly politician,” Infield said, “and there aren’t that many around.”

Infield, a native of London and a Valley Stream resident for the past 13 years who trains with the Aquafit masters swim team at the Nassau County Aquatic Center, is looking forward to having another place where he can take his two rescue beagles without risking penalties. According to county park regulations, owners are banned from walking their dogs — even on leashes. “I have a ticket for my woes,” he said, “but on the whole, you kind of get away with it.”

“Eisenhower is such a huge park,” added Laubis. “It would be nice for people to take their dogs.”

County Legislator Norma Gonsalves is among the pet-friendly politicians advocating for the dog run, and Laubis and Infield agree that she has been instrumental in helping their cause. “Norma has been very helpful and is really pushing this,” Infield said.

Gonsalves declined to comment, other than to say that the run is expected to open in late summer, as projected.

“It’s hard with the funding, [but] it looks like it’s coming along,” said Laubis, who collected 1,300 names on a pro-dog-run petition in 2008. “Hopefully my dog will be able to enjoy it. We’ve been promised this before.”

To help secure funding, Laubis and Infield are trying to attract sponsors. One interested business is Pet Supplies Plus, which sent a representative to meet with Laubis and county officials last month. “For more than 17 years, Pet Supplies Plus has been Long Island’s neighborhood full-service pet store and a part of the local landscape,” the company’s chairman, Stanley Lang, wrote in an e-mail. “We are so glad to be a sponsor of this wonderful amenity for the pet-owning community.”

Added Mangano, in a statement: “We are happy to be collaborating with Pet Supplies Plus to provide Nassau County residents with a state-of-the-art dog run at Eisenhower Park, to be completed by late summer, early fall.”

LI-DOG originated in Suffolk County, where there are no fewer than 10 dog runs. In actuality, Laubis said, “Nassau is a little behind the 8-ball.”

To stay up to date on the progress of the Eisenhower Park dog run, join the Facebook group Dog Park at Eisenhower!