New Dog Park Opens

By Cynthia Drummond for BRVCA
October 10th 2023

RICHMOND –The official opening of Richmond’s new dog park isn’t until Nov. 4, but the dogs chasing each other in circles on Tuesday morning didn’t care. Nor were they aware that it had taken more than a decade for a group of residents and a few members of the Town Council to make it happen.

Victoria Vona, who has been on the Dog Park Committee since it was formed, stood just outside the fence with her husband Mike, watching the dogs and their owners enjoying the new facility.

“I’m almost ready to cry, because, 11 years,” she said. “I was approached by Erik Davis, who was on the Town Council, and he said ‘hey Victoria! You want to be on the Dog Park Committee? We’ll get a dog park in Richmond.’ And I’m like, ‘yeah.’ At the time, I had a Golden Retriever, Ginger.”

Vona said there had been times when she thought the dog park was close to happening, but something would always get in the way.

“How many times did I cry?” she said.

Located near the entrance to the Heritage Trail on Route 138, the new dog park replaces the unofficial dog park, which is on an old landfill next to the transfer station. The old park officially closed on Oct. 10, the same day the new park opened.

Watching as his dog Samson played with the other dogs, Town Council President Mark Trimmer said he had walked him often on the trail, but couldn’t take him off leash because of the busy road nearby.

“I can finally let him loose,” he said. “My own yard isn’t fenced in. They thought I was crazy when I complained in 2017 that  they had a dog park on an uncapped landfill. We talked about moving it over here, but there wasn’t enough push behind me, but Samantha carried it through.”

Trimmer was referring to Councilwoman Samantha Wilcox, who was standing nearby, watching her dog, aptly named “Chase,” chase other dogs in circles on the grass. Wilcox served on the Dog Park Committee from 2021 until 2022, when she was elected to the council.

“It’s so fun,” she said. “Everyone’s obviously having a good time. The dogs are getting along. “

Funds for the dog park, $71,580, came from a recreation grant from the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management.

Assisting with the grant were Town Administrator Karen Pinch, former council member Lauren Cacciola and former Town Planner, Shaun Lacey.

The town was required to contribute a 20% in-kind match, which was provided in the form of work at the site by the Department of Public Works.

“They created the parking,” Wilcox said. “They made these cute hills, as you see, they moved all the equipment.”

The park occupies about 40,000 square feet of the property and about 30,000 feet are enclosed with a fence. There is agility equipment as well, built in 2022 as an Eagle Scout project by Hayden Puglia of Boy Scout Troop 2, Kingston.

Wilcox said she believed the dog park could boost the town’s economy, because it attracts visitors from other towns.

“Of the people you saw today, some were not even from our town, so it’s benefitting Richmond residents, but it’s drawing visitors in from other areas,” she said.

Jack Horrocks, who lives in Coventry, sat at a picnic table, watching his dog, Florence, playing with the other dogs. There is no dog park in Coventry, he said, so he has been bringing his dog to Richmond.

“We used to go to the one over by the DPW, but most of the time, there’s nobody there,” he said. “Last week with two rainy days in a row, I don’t want to say she’s out of her mind, but she’s pacing. She knows the routine. Like this morning, usually we leave the house about 6:30, quarter of 7, something like that. Knowing this was going to be 9 o’clock, I said ‘we’ll go about 8:30.’ She’s sitting staring at me with her tail going – let’s go!”

Trimmer said that the dog park, adjacent to the popular Heritage Trail, added another significant improvement to the quality of life in the town.

“Unfortunately, being a town that’s not on the ocean, and we don’t have any of those benefits, we don’t offer a whole lot and this is just another improvement, along with the playground [Beaver River Playground] and other things. When the pavilion gets built on that town land across from the Town Hall, that’ll be a huge improvement as well.”

The official opening of the park will take place on Nov. 4 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. There will be a ribbon cutting at 11:30 a.m. The rain date is Nov. 5. Humans and dogs are welcome.