New dog park to open by fall

Northside Park to become “Northside Bark,” an off-leash dog park in Oxford.

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By Ryan Gauthier, Staff Writer Updated 3:00 AM Sunday, August 9, 2009

OXFORD — A pet-friendly park is getting a tail up as the dog days of summer pass the midway point.

The Oxford Dog Owners Group — OxDOG for short — has spent the bulk of the summer clearing out brush and broken glass from the underused Northside Park and transforming it into Northside Bark, the community’s first off-leash dog park on Morning Sun Road.

“We’re absolutely thrilled with the location,” said OxDOG President Bill Levenderis. “It’s one acre, which is a decent amount of space, while at the same time not too much to manage. Plus, we’re located within the Mile Square (a square mile that contains the Miami University campus), so I would expect everyone from students to the elderly to all take advantage of the facilities.”

Launching the park before the end of summer is a daunting task, but “You have to set aggressive goals to get there,” Levenderis said.

OxDOG’s fundraising goal of $10,000 would provide enough money to install a water source and erect a fence around the grounds, complete with a double-gated entrance.

“We’re more than halfway there already,” he said. “We’ll be ramping up our fundraising efforts in the coming weeks and hopefully we can get together enough money to make this park happen by the end of the summer.”

OxDOG’s vice president, Mary Glasmeier, said she expects the park to be a great asset for dog owners not just from Oxford, but its surrounding communities. The group already has close to 100 people already signed up for e-mail updates on the project.

“We’re at the uptown farmer’s market every Saturday and at the Thursday night concerts to answer any questions people might have,” Glasmeier said. “The reaction from people so far has been overwhelmingly positive.”

Work at Northside likely will continue for the foreseeable future to add new elements to the park over time.

“Just because we have a ribbon-cutting ceremony doesn’t mean we’re done,” said Levenderis. “We want to make sure we have not only a great dog park, but the best dog park.”

Donations are accepted through the Oxford Community Foundation, (513) 523-0623.

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