Valley Stream dog owners get some relief

All dog owners in Valley Stream are created equal. That’s why a group of local Boy Scouts have spent the last two weekends making improvements to the village dog park.

When the dog park first opened two years ago, it included a shelter in the large dog area, but none in the small dog area, which is for canines 30 pounds or less. That has changed, as Christopher Knightly supervised construction of one for his Eagle Scout project. Now, owners of small dogs can get the same protection from the sun, rain and other elements.

“We had requests for it,” said Mike Powers, a Boy Scout leader with Troop 369 and a member of Friends of Valley Stream Dogs. “It gets really sunny here in the summertime.”

Powers suggested the idea to Knightly, who needed to complete a community service project to become an Eagle Scout, the highest rank in Boy Scouts. In preparing for the project, Knightly had to design the shelter, decide where to put it, and get approval from the village. He also had to get donations — the Friends group made a major contribution — buy the materials and enlist volunteers to help build it.

On April 12, he and his crew began construction, and finished up work the following weekend. Many of the scouts who helped Knightly out were returning the favor for the work he put in on their respective projects. “It feels good to be the one in charge of leading them,” he said.

The shelter isn’t the first project at the dog park completed by the Boy Scouts, and it won’t be the last. The shelter, benches and ramp in the large dog area, as well as signs, artwork and a storage shed are all the result of Eagle projects. Powers said another scout also plans to build a ramp for the small dog area.

Knightly, 17, a senior at Central High School, said he was glad to help out. “It’s a good idea,” he said. “I hope it makes the small dog park more usable and gives people a place to sit in the shade.”

He has been in the scouts since he was 7, and seeing other scouts earn their Eagle rank over the years inspired him to do the same. Knightly has earned all of his required merit badges and once he completes the paperwork for his service project, he will have to appear before an Eagle Board of Review.

The dog park is open daily from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., and is restricted to Valley Stream park members. Friends of Valley Stream Dogs will host a second anniversary celebration there on June 21.