Some 100 people packed the auditorium of the Huntington library at H-DOG’s Feb. 6^th meeting to hear Suffolk County Legislator Jon Cooper say he was committed to making Coindre Hall the “cream of the crop” of dog runs.

Among the details:
The dog run would cover approximately 1-1/2 acres along the eastern edge of the property adjacent to the Gold Star Battalion Beach parking lot. Leg. Cooper said he is hoping to get the dog run “larger still.”

The Town of Huntington has agreed to provide fencing, a water line and security. The dog run would be patrolled two or three times a day to make sure only permit-holders use it.

Permits would cost about $25 a year and would cover Coindre Hall and West Hills.

Private money will need to be raised to develop the run. “Don’t count on Suffolk County giving any money,” said Leg. Cooper.

The dog run would be a two-year pilot project. “That’s two years to turn this into a beautiful dog run and prove that dog owners are responsible,” he said.

A detailed site plan and plan of action is being developed for the dog run at Coindre Hall by  Leg. Cooper’s office in concert with the Town of Huntington, H-DOG and other groups. This site plan is due to be presented to the Council on Environmental Quality, which oversees Coindre Hall, at its March meeting. “The ball is in our court,” said Leg. Cooper.

Issues raised by dog owners at the meeting:
The location of a fenced-in dog run. “What makes Coindre Hall special is the hill. This is where we congregate and the dogs play. If the dog run is located at the

foot of the hill, it would be like any other fenced-in property,” said one dog owner.

In return for accepting a fence, losing the beautiful location of the current dog run would represent a “terrible compromise,” he added. “We are the people who use the park. Why can’t the fence be on the hill?” he said.

The inconsistencies in the county’s treatment of dog owners and other users of Coindre Hall:  At the same time as the county has dug up the big field in back of the mansion to sink eight new cesspools and septic tanks to handle major social events in the mansion, county legislators decry the environmental impact of a few dozen dogs at the park.

At the same time as county representatives express concerns about harming Coindre Hall’s historic status, the county allows cars to park all over the fields when certain events are held. The gymnasium at Coindre Hall is not particularly historic either, quipped one dog owner. Coindre Hall was used as a school for 30 years.

The lack of responsiveness to dog owners’ needs by the county. “When I was in grade school, I thought we voted for our representatives and they were supposed to listen to us,” said one dog owner. But, she added, “I pay tens of thousands of dollars a year in taxes, and I can’t get the right to take my dog to a park!”

Another speaker said she arrived recently at one Suffolk County park with her dog only to find a new sign posted: No Dogs Allowed. “My dog loves to walk trails with me,” she said. “What am I going to do?”
    
The bottom line, said one other dog owner, is “Suffolk County may be one of the most dog-unfriendly counties in the country!”

We agree!