A new off-leash dog park, one of three planned for the city, has a home at Champlain Park in the south end of the city.
See our photo gallery at the end of this story.
Humane Society Executive Director Daryl Vaillancourt said work will start this weekend. Bruman Construction will do some prep and get rid of some of the underbrush.
"We're going to leave as many mature trees as possible because we want shade in the summer. If things go well we could see it finished this fall but winter seems to be rushing in. Worst case scenario we'll have it open in the spring as soon as the frost is out of the ground."
Sue McIntyre lives nearby with her dog Scooter." This is awesome. I love letting my dog loose so this is really important to me."
She feels it will be heavily used.
""It's kind of cold today but dog walkers are out in all kinds of weather ."
Vaillancourt says this park is just the start.
"We have every intention of opening up two more. There's a lot of talk about having a dog park in the north end of the city and over in the west end, but this was a good place to start.'
There will be rules, but dog owners will have to be self-policing. The park will be divided in two, with sections for large and small dogs.
A public meeting will be held in the new year to talk about benches, a pergola and maybe some lighting.
Every bit of the money for the park is from the Humane Society says Vaillancourt.
"As a charity people have been very generous. People have stepped forward over the last four to five years and we've been able to use that money."
Vaillancourt says research shows it would cost over $80 thousand if they were paying for the whole thing.
Mike Latanville and his dog Charlie were among 30 people on hand for the announcement.
Photos by Jeff Turl.
"It's good for the dogs to burn off some energy," Latanville told BayToday. "I came from a place with a dog park and my dog really enjoyed it, and it's good for people to get out and let their dogs play together."
The city is providing the parcel of land through a lease agreement with the society.
See the Faceook page: https://www.facebook.com/nbHumaneSociety
or their website: http://www.northbayhumanesociety.ca/
