Want to Let Your Dog Off the Leash?

Tired of not having a place to let your dog run free in town, or feeling like a scofflaw when you let him off the leash at Memorial Field or the golf course at the Moorestown Field Club?

So is John Matthews.

The 16-year-old Boy Scout has proposed the creation of a dog park at Pryor Park for his Eagle Scout project. Town council gave John its blessing Monday night to move forward with his plans. 

John, a member of Boy Scout Troop 44 at the First United Methodist Church, said initially the idea for a dog park stemmed from a personal interest: He wanted somewhere to take his family's dog, 8-year-old Australian shepherd, Maggie, that didn't require driving to Cherry Hill, or Marlton, or Delanco.

On the other hand, trips to the dog parks in those communities gave him ideas for his own design, he said.

His plan calls for a fairly large fenced-in dog park on an unused field at Pryor Park, with trees for shade, benches, a picnic table and a water fountain, with two spouts for man and his best friend.

The money to build the park, which John put in the $10,000-15,000 range, will be raised by him and other Scouts. He is in the process of planning fundraising activities, including a dog fair at Moorestown Day on June 1. Corporate sponsors who make large donations will be identified on a sign installed at the park, and individual donors who want to memorialize the name of their pet ($50 each) will also be acknowledged with something permanent at the site of the park, according to his plans. 

The landscaping for the park will be done by John and his fellow Scouts, though he's hoping to involve other volunteers as well. The fence will have to be built by a contractor, he explained, due to municipal regulations.

Mayor Stacey Jordan said council was impressed with the plans presented by the young Scout. Though she wasn't aware of there ever being a serious push to create a dog park before, Jordan said she's been approached by dog owners on a number of occasions informing her the township should have one. 

Jordan said she only gave John one piece of advice: "I thought he should knock on a couple doors near the park to let people know what's going on. My experience is, the more you communicate with people, the less resistance you have."

John said ideally he'd like to begin building the park in the fall and finish it before the end of the season.