From the Jersey Journal:

Dog run has tails wagging
Friday, September 19, 2008
By CHARLES HACK
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

UNION CITY - A new county-funded barking lot has come to Washington Park, which straddles the border between Union City and Jersey City.

The county will be holding a ribbon-cutting for the dog run at the park near Paterson Plank Road and Palisade Avenue at noon today. Mayors from both municipalities are scheduled to attend, as well as Hudson County Executive Thomas A. DeGise.

The 120-by 80-foot run cost about $160,000 and provides almost 10,000 feet of leash-free romp space on a stone and sand surface, officials said.

It also has an automated water fountain activated when thirsty pooches dip their heads in the bowl for a drink. The county also has dog runs at Braddock Park in North Bergen and Lincoln Park in Jersey City. A second dog run is being built at Lincoln Park.

The dog run, which has been operating for about a week, is a pet project by DeGise, whose best four-pawed friend is named Dodger and lives with him not far away in Jersey City Heights.

The dog run, which has been operational for at least a week, has a strong endorsement from the Washington Park Association, which was set up recently to improve quality of life and safety for residents around park.

"Dogs were running around the park on and off leash," said Mory Thomas, acting president of the WPA. "There was a really big need for a dog park where they could do so safely."

The dog run also will serve a large canine population that lives in the high-rise Doric Apartment Towers on Manhattan Avenue in Union City.

"This will be a big help to us," Nancy Mulligan, manager at the Doric Apartments. "There are so many people living here who have dogs."

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