Providing a Place for the Pooches

Local dog owners may soon have a place to let their pets to run free as the Farmington Dog Park Coalition — a grassroots group working to build a dog park in town — continues to gain momentum. 

John Scarritt, a commercial loan officer at Thomaston Savings Bank and owner of Avery, an adopted 10-month-old German Shepard/Dachshund mix, began the effort to build a dog park for Farmington in April and since its inception, the group has seen steady growth as more dog owners join the cause.

“I haven’t encountered much opposition to the idea at all,” Scarritt said. “I think a lot of people want a place where their dogs can run free, exercise and socialize.”

Since May, the Farmington Dog Park Coalition has been holding a meeting on the third Tuesday of every month at 7 p.m. at the senior center at 321 New Britain Ave. According to Scarritt, the meetings have drawn approximately 75 supporters so far.

In July, several members of the coalition met with Town Manger Kathy Eagen to familiarize themselves with the procedures for submitting a formal proposal for a dog park.

According to Scarritt, the coalition was asked to submit a formal proposal to the Town Council outlining the details of the dog park and that proposal will be delivered to the council by Sept. 1. Whether or not the council will act upon it is yet to be seen.

“The main question I’m asked is ‘Where will the dog park be built?’” Scarritt said. “But we’re going to leave that up to the town. We want to be as minimally invasive as possible. We want to allow the town to choose the best place for the park so we don’t step on the toes of any other organization that’s planning to use any given area.” 

As for the construction and day-to-day operations of the dog park, according to Scarritt, the coalition would pay for the construction and maintenance of the dog park and only ask that the town donate a piece of land.

“We understand that the town’s budget is stretched thin right now and we don’t want to put any additional strain on the community,” he said. “We are planning to raise money to construct fencing, buy trash cans — whatever else is needed. Beyond that, we’re going to look for volunteers who would be willing to lend their time to help us maintain the park.”

Previously, three-term council member Mike Demicco, who has been assisting the coalition in Town Council procedures, suggested the idea of a dog park before the council at the annual strategic planning meeting, but according to Demicco, there was little support for the idea at the time.

Currently, the coalition is working to garner support for their mission, inform residents of their cause and attract new members to their group.

Although they have been operating under the name “The Farmington Dog Park Coalition” for several months now, Scarritt says he is considering holding a contest for Farmington school children to rename the group in order in involve more people in their mission and spread information on their goal.

Now that the initial stages have been completed, Scarritt said he plans to move forward in launching a public relations campaign which he said will involve building a website, creating a logo for the coalition and promoting their cause using social media websites like Facebook.

For more information, or to join the Farmington Dog Park Coalition, contact John Scarritt at farmctdp@gmail.com, or attend a meeting of the at the Farmington Senior Center at 321 New Britain Ave. on the third Tuesday of every month.