In August, construction started on a new 1-3/4-acre dog run in West Hills County Park. Once completed, the new run should be one of the largest official dog parks in Nassau or Suffolk counties. The new dog park is located in the eastern section of West Hills County Park on Sweet Hollow Rd. near Sweet Hills Stables.

    The new run is the result of work by LI-DOG members and Suffolk County Legislator Lou D'Amaro. Leg. D'Amaro, who represents south Huntington including the area around West Hills as well as northern Babylon, said he would make the expansion of the run at West Hills one of his first priorities when he ran for office in November 2005.

    In recent years, dog owners have raised concerns that the existing run, which is about one-third of an acre, is too crowded for the number of people and dogs who use it.

    LI-DOG members met with Leg. D'Amaro in late April to discuss the need for a larger dog run and in a time of tight budgets Leg. D'Amaro was able to secure funding for the new dog run shortly thereafter. Thank you, Leg. D'Amaro!

    The Suffolk Parks Dept. has told Leg. D'Amaro that the new dog run will be completed sometime in November. Besides the fencing, which is already up, the new run will include benches, a water fountain, a shade/rain pavilion, waste bag disposal stations, and a bulletin board.

    Members of LI-DOG worked with the Parks Dept. to provide a set of recommendations and a proposed design for the new dog park and its amenities. LI-DOG also recommended to Parks Commissioner Ron Foley that the existing run be kept open and turned into the run for small and timid dogs.

    The new run covers three quarters of the two-acre field LI-DOG identified for the new dog park. According to the Parks Dept., corporate picnics are held in the nearby picnic area and the Dept. wants to keep a portion of the field available for such functions.

    The area for the new run is very attractive with ample shade and a small stand of woods and trees at the south end. Eventually, LI-DOG hopes the new run will attract enough dog owners that we will be able to expand the run so that it encompasses the full field.

    For now, we are extremely excited about getting a new, bigger dog run at West Hills.

    WHAT YOU CAN DO: It is important that local legislators see concrete results for working on behalf of dog owners. Please call or email Leg. D'Amaro at 631-854-1900 or lou.damaro@suffolkcountyny.gov and thank him for helping create a beautiful, new dog run at West Hills County Park. Let him know how wonderful this is for you and your dogs!

    WHAT'S NEXT: Given what a big deal this is, LI-DOG has started work on organizing an Opening Day Celebration! So far, we envision a ribbon cutting, brief speeches by dignitaries such as Leg. D'Amaro, an inaugural first Frisbee toss, coffee and donuts for humans, and dog cookies and water for our dogs. We're also planning a Frisbee dog demonstration. It should be a great event!

    So far, we do not have a date yet for our opening event as the Parks Dept. has not committed to a specific opening date. As soon as we get that information, we'll pass it along!

    WHAT YOU CAN DO: If you want to help LI-DOG with the Opening of the new West Hills Dog Park, email us at lidog_news@yahoo.com. We need people to help arrange for food and drinks, make bandanas for the dogs, and publicize the event, among other tasks.