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Community Corner

Every Dog Has Its Day in West Sayville

New Cherry Avenue dog park celebrates grand opening.

Canines rejoice, as the new dog park in West Sayville officially opened its gates on Thursday.

Local pooches now have a safe, outdoor environment to run, interact with other dogs and get in their daily dose of exercise.

Suffolk County Legis. Bill Lindsay, along with Suffolk County Parks Commissioner Joe Montuori, cut the ceremonial ribbon on the Cherry Avenue Dog Park, located just south of the Baymen Soccer Fields.

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“This is an exciting day for the Sayville community,” Lindsay said. “In the last several years, there have been a few dog parks built in the county but this is the first one in the Sayville area and it’s a very happy day for me.”

“The county has been trying to buy this piece of property for the last 10 years,” he continued. “We finally got it down two years ago.”

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Lindsay added that eventually the park will become a multi-purpose establishment. This is just the first phase of that initiative, which may include a skate park as well as a playground equipped for developmentally disabled children.

The new 1.5-acre dog park is completely fenced in and has two separate areas for large dogs and small dogs. The area is filled with wood chips and also features running water.

The new dog park will be the third dog park created since the passage of the Five New Dog Parks bill in 2007, and was made possible by legislation introduced by Lindsay, authorizing the issuance of $59,000 in bonds for the dog park. Blydenburgh County Park in Hauppauge and Robinson Park in Yaphank have already been opened.

LI-Dog president Ginny Munger Kahn, a Long Island Dog Owners Group based in Huntington, was on hand at the ribbon cutting to thank Lindsay personally.

“Since December of 2009, you have been working so hard to get these parks opened," Kahn said. "This park will have an impact on the daily lives of dog owners all around Suffolk County. Thank you to the dog owners for all your help in supporting this; you will be the key to making this park a success.”

Huntington resident Sharon, who did not give her last name, took her dog Mozart to the grand opening celebration.

“I like the idea that they are recycling all the wood chips, so there won’t be any mud,” she said. “Nobody will fall and get hurt on this. I also like the fact that you can separate the little dogs from the big ones. The moving water is also very healthy for the dogs and the fencing is great.”

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