Memorial Day Parade

Monday is shaping up to be a beautiful day--come out and join the West Hartford Dog Park Coalition march in this year's Memorial Day Parade!

Please wear your green WHDPC t-shirt, or other kelly green shirt. Well-behaved dogs on leashes less than 6ft. in length are welcome. Remember to carry some water for your 4-legged friend.

We line up on Farmington Avenue WEST of Newport Avenue and will be directly behind the Sedgwick Marching Band (look for the sea of navy blue polo shirts). The parade will commence promptly at 10 a.m., so please be to our designated area by 9:45am.

Landscape Architect Needed

We need your help! We are looking for a landscape architect who would be willing to donate their time and talent in designing the West Hartford Dog Park. This would be a great opportunity to give back to your community and promote your business!

If you or someone you know could assist in this area, please let us know. If you have questions, please email: westhartforddogpark@gmail.com.

Big Dog Park News!!!

We have a site! It was decided at the Community Planning Committee meeting today that we will move forward with an application to the Zoning Committee for the Fernridge Park site. This is great news and a huge milestone for our project.

Are you interested in helping the project move forward? We're always looking for additional people to get involved:

*Fundraising Committee is meeting next on Thursday, May 13 at 7:00pm at Twon Hall, Room 217.
*PR Committee will be meeting again in the next couple weeks--stay tuned for details.
*The Memorial Day Parade is coming up Monday, May 31 - march in the parade along with the WHDPC!

Additional events will be announced soon. Be sure to check out our Facebook Page for additional even info!

Walk Like MADD: Saturday, May 1

The West Hartford Dog Park Coalition needs volunteers to join us in our participation in the Walk Like MADD even May 1. The event begins at 9:30am and the walk steps off at 10:00am. The 2.5 mile walk goes through Blue Black Square and West Hartford Center and ends back at Town Hall at about 11-11:30am where all walkers are treated to a free lunch. We have confirmed that dogs are welcome to participate in the walk so please feel free to bring them along!


We are in the process of working out the details of how we will be sharing our message with those in attendance at the walk. We have been invited to bring literature, etc. for display in the walk's "Pet Zone" so that should be a great way to raise awareness of the dog park and the process we've been engaged in with the town.


To register for the walk please log on to the website by following this link: http://support.madd.org/site/PageServer?pagename=wp1_homepage

Click the "Participate" button at the top of the screen and select the West Hartford walk on May 1st. We have a team set up for the West Hartford Dog Park Coalition so please select that when you register. Also, please feel free to invite others to join us on the walk and show their support for both the West Hartford Dog Park and MADD! Don't forget to wear your green WHDPC tshirt!


Email or call our PR Chair, Lauren, with any questions: lauren.palmisano@utc.com or 860-306-7300.

New Facebook Page!

We have added a brand new Facebook page--be sure you join in! This will allow us an easy way to hear your feedback and suggestions, post news updates and list upcoming events. Check it out and join in here: www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=111274665560951&ref=mf

Volunteer Opportunity

As most of you know, we are currently in the process of identifying a site for the dog park. As soon as the site is finalized, we will need to quickly start the process of raising money to build the park.

We need your help!

If you are willing to donate your time and talent, to assist with creating and implementing a fundraising plan for our group, please contact Caroline Gaetano, Fundraising Chair, at barkeater@sbcglobal.net.

Once the Committee is established, it will meet on a monthly basis, but only if necessary. Please support this project and join the Fundraising Committee.

Dog Park Resolution Passed!

We did it!

Thank you to everyone who came out to the Town Council meeting Tuesday night. We had a great crowd and it was noticed! Your voices were heard and the resolution passed with support from all 9 Town Councilors (which is unusual). Thank you, also, to everyone who contacted the Town Councilors prior to the meeting. That was a vital element in getting all of their support on this resolution.

For those of you who were not able to attend, hopefully you caught the live broadcast on Channel 5. If not, they will replay it in the next couple of days and we suggest you check it out as the Town Councilors had many nice comments for our group.

So, now the big question is WHAT'S NEXT?

Our understanding is that this will now be assigned to the Community Planning Committee, of which, Joe Verrengia is the Chair. We will work with Mr. Verrengia and the Town Manager, Ron van Winkle, to identify a site for the park. We expect this process will take about 2 months. Once the site is identified, it will be fundraising time. Fundraising is going to be the big challenge for our group and that is the time we are going to desperately need your help and support!

We will keep you up to date as the site selection process moves forward and will certainly let you know how you can help with the fundraising process. In the meantime, if you have any questions or ideas, feel free to contact anyone from the leadership team by emailing us at this address WestHartfordDogPark@gmail.com.

You can also read recaps of the meeting from the Hartford Courant and West Hartford Life.

THANK YOU,

WHDPC Leadership Team

Mandy Pike, President
Liz Buczynski, Vice President
Scott Cieslak, Treasurer
Kim Thomas, Secretary
Caroline Gaetano, Fundraising Chair
Steve Bunin, Public Relations Chair
Lisa Asp, Webmaster

Photograph Courtesy of Lynn Woike

Save the Date - December 8, 2009, 7:30pm

A resolution to identify space for a dog park in West Hartford will be presented at the Town Council meeting on December 8th and we need your support!

The meeting will be at 7:30pm at Town Hall. For this to succeed, we need you there. More information will be distributed shortly, but please go ahead and mark your calendars and plan to attend this important event.

Please select the link below to let us know that you are planning on attending.
http://www.evite.com/pages/invite/viewInvite.jsp?event=UJHWHBRBCMNELPOLXJQV&inviteId=TEJZPLMTKKBURBBRMOXG&showPreview=false&x=726904534

Thank you!

"I Do Dog Tricks"

This is the cutest website ever!



Type in a command and see what happens... Sit, roll over, down, stand, sing, dance, shake, fetch, play dead, etc. And...it's also cute if you type in a command that's not recognized...!!
Type in 'Kiss' too, but do it last.

ENJOY!!!!!

Why Everyone Should Have a Dog

Here is a fun little video that's sure to bring a smile to your face! Enjoy.