Letter: An Ode to the New Dog Park

To the Editor:

It was a beautiful Saturday morning in April. The kids, somehow, were still asleep. The weekend schedule was unusually open. It was then, just as my eyes were beginning to open, that my wife looked at me and said, “We’ve agreed to foster a puppy!”

Now, the “we” in this equation was most certainly a theoretical me, participating in a theoretical conversation my wife must have had the night before, in which the theoretical me presumably gleefully agreed. The real, non-theoretical me knew better than to disappoint either my real or theoretical wife. Smiling — internally crying — I nodded and said, “Of course. Yes. A puppy is a wonderful idea.” And since a household with children does not truly foster a puppy, the puppy is now our puppy.

But this isn’t about a puppy. This is about a dog park.

Quite early in this unfathomably destructive and adorable animal’s life, we began taking him to the new Weston Dog Park, just around the corner from where we live. For context, this being Weston, nothing is just around the corner from where we live. But with increasing regularity, the whole family began walking over and spending more time there.

I cannot say enough good things about the dog park, which is not a sentence I’d ever envisioned myself saying out loud. The dog park’s design and size has fostered unhurried, organic conversations with our neighbors. It has created more of a sense of community. People who might never otherwise meet are doing so every day. No one’s rushing. No cars screaming by. Just being in the moment. And I crave this. I crave these moments to connect with others — in nature, no less! I know some others who feel the same way.

And kids! Children, often shy, are running after each other’s dogs, finding reasons to talk and spark real-life friendships. I haven’t seen a single screen in a child’s hands (I’m not judging. I’m not judging.)

So please allow this Op-Ed to serve as a huge thank you. To all those who were part of the park’s creation, both private citizens and elected officials — thank you for fostering something deeper than a green space. Thank you for creating community, at a time when it’s needed more than ever.

—  Daniel Gershburg

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