Plans for dog park move ahead

WARREN — Dog lovers with a desire to let their pets run free and to allow them to socialize with other dogs may get their wish as soon as next year.

Trumbull County commissioners Wednesday agreed to turn over to the MetroParks board a three-acre piece of land on Educational Highway at Clarence Darrow Park in Champion for a dog park.

Cathy Abruzzo of Howland and Mike Wilson, a member of the Trumbull County MetroParks board, presented the idea to commissioners Tuesday.

It involves either transferring the acreage to the MetroParks board or giving it a long-term lease so that a state grant can be secured to develop it.

Abruzzo and Wilson said dog parks are available in cities such as Cleveland and Akron, but the Mahoning Valley currently doesn’t have one.

Abruzzo tried to get approval from the Howland Township Park Board for such a facility at Howland Township Park, but the board did not approve it, she said.

Such a dog park is fenced in and usually divided into separate areas for large or small dogs, Wilson said. Owners must keep their dogs’ immunization records up to date and act responsibly, but such parks provide dogs with an enjoyable space, Abruzzo said.

Abruzzo said much of the money for the park would come from a state Nature Works grant not yet secured. She is hopeful the project could be built as early as the spring or summer.

Wilson said the location of the park would be either in a part of the disc golf course or in an area to the west near the Educational Highway entrance to Kent State University Trumbull Campus.