Lou D'Amaro who is running for the Suffolk County Legislature from the 17th District, which covers south Huntington, North Babylon and includes the West Hills Park area, recently issued a strong statement of support for expansion of the dog run at West Hills as well as the creation of other dog parks in Suffolk County.

    Noting that the dog run at West Hills is the only dog run built so far in Suffolk County and that it is too small to handle all the dog owners looking for safe and legal areas to exercise their dogs, D'Amaro stated: "I strongly believe that Suffolk County needs to expeditiously increase the number of dog runs, starting with West Hills. If I am elected, I will move quickly to sponsor the creation of a larger dog run at West Hills."

    Moreover, he added, "I will be a strong proponent for the creation of additional off-leash areas throughout the parks system. I look forward to and would be proud to work with LI-DOG, my colleagues on the Suffolk County Legislature, County Executive Steven Levy, and Parks Commissioner Ron Foley in making this happen for the many thousands of our citizens who own dogs and need safe and legal places to exercise them."

    To read D'Amaro's full statement, click here.

    What You Can Do Now: Tell Lou how much we appreciate his support for our efforts to greatly improve the dog run at West Hills! This will help insure that he makes the creation of a large West Hills dog park a high priority should he win election on November 8th. You can call his campaign office at (631) 630-2780 or e-mail him at: info@damaroforlegislature.com

    Also, in regards to the dog run at West Hills, LI-DOG representatives met with Suffolk County Parks Commissioner Ron Foley on Oct. 6th. Significantly, Commissioner Foley seemed open to finding a bigger area in the park for off-leash exercise and fun! In addition, he indicated if we did find a bigger spot, there would be no reason to close the existing run. He also seemed receptive to suggestions made by dog owners at West Hills Park in recent weeks that there be an area set aside for small and timid dogs and that having two locations would allow the Parks Department to do periodic maintenance and grass reseeding at one location or another.

    Among the areas discussed for a bigger run was the Meadow Picnic field near Sweet Hollow Stables. As LI-DOG has said in the past we feel this is a good candidate location because there are no nearby houses, it is significantly bigger than the existing run, it already has a fence along one side so it won't cost as much to put new fence in, and there is water, parking and bathrooms nearby.

    Still there are issues that need to be addressed including whether there are any legal limits on the use of the field and how the Parks Department will get funding to create a new dog run. The Suffolk County Legislature is going through budgeting for 2006 at this time.

    What You Can Do Now: It is critical we build a strong movement of dog owners asking for a bigger dog run at West Hills as soon as possible. That means we need to get thousands of names and signatures on our petition asking for more off-leash access to Suffolk County parkland. To download our petition, click here. For more information on the petition drive, read our article, "LI-DOG Launches Petition Drive '05".

    One of the best ways to get lots of names and signatures quickly is to leave copies of the petition at vet's offices, with dog trainers, at pet stores and at other locations where dog owners who use West Hills Park might meet. Also, sign up your family, friends and neighbors who love dogs and want to help!

    Once you've gotten names and signatures, mail the petition back to us at: LI-DOG, P.O. Box 587, Huntington, N.Y. 11743.

    Also, if you have any questions e-mail us at lidog_news@yahoo.com.