To the editor:

Just a month ago we officially opened the Portsmouth Dog Park Trail, our new fenced-in woodland path adjacent to the original dog park. The other day I arrived at the park and found 10 cars in the parking lot, but I couldn’t see a single dog or human anywhere. Everybody was on the trail!

It turns out there are unintended consequences to building a dog park trail. Anyone who’s ever walked a dog in the woods knows that their nose is put to good use on a trail. So much to smell! So much to explore! Instead of begging their human to throw them a tennis ball, they’re saying, “Out of my way! I’ve got some smelling to do!”

We are deeply grateful to the van Beuren Charitable Foundation and to all the many wonderful organizations and people who made this possible — too many to name here but please visit our webpage or Facebook page to see who they are. Please make a point of thanking them next time you see them in the neighborhood. 

Our work continues. We still need to raise funds to install solar lighting in the main park, add agility equipment, landscape the memorial garden, and plant more shade trees along the trail. If you want to help, please visit www.portsmouthdogparkri.com. Every gift counts!

Thank you for giving our furry friends a place to nose around!

Jane Regan

Chair, Portsmouth Dog Park and Trail Committee

Middletown