HISTORY

The Dog Owners' Group of Portsmouth organized in the fall of 1998 to address a number of concerns between Portsmouth’s dog owners and a small group of residents. The main issues were:

• The accessibility of city parks
• Where dogs could play off leash
• Dogs and children, with an emphasis on dog owners’ responsibility for cleaning up after their dogs.

As Portsmouth City Government began to examine these issues, The Dog Owners Group of Portsmouth organized to promote dialogue between dog owners, City Hall and the public. This involved:

• countering misperceptions about dogs,
• better educating both the public and City Hall about dogs and their social needs
• addressing health concerns confronting city officials

reminding the Portsmouth community that dog owners represent an important unified group of good citizens.

By the Spring of 1999, the Dog Owners Group faced possible closure of all public areas to dogs, on or off leash. With the interest of all dog owners in the Seacoast at risk, the group gathered at City Council meetings to voice opposition. In response to the strong showing, a small dog park was fenced in near the center of town as a temporary measure to determine whether there was a need for a safe area in which dogs could play off leash. The area had been chosen by a Blue Ribbon Committee created by Mayor Evelyn Sirrell because of its proximity to parking, its central location and its lack of use by other community members. The park was an immediate success, and became today’s Dog Park of Portsmouth.

The group continued to work at City Council meetings to find another, larger, more appropriate spot for the many dogs owners who needed more space. Thanks to the Mayor and City Councilor Evelyn Marconi, a city land parcel on Constitution Avenue was found in 1999, which met the needs of town and dog owners alike.

During this time, the Dog Owners Group slowly became a more formalized entity, registering with the State of New Hampshire as a non-profit corporation. A board was selected and they created our mission statement and bylaws. Several committees took form in order to spread the work and help move projects forward.

The Constitution Avenue site was designed as a new Adopt-a-Spot that the Dog Owners Group would "adopt." By promising a matching campaign to fund improvements such as parking which were necessary to make the area work as a dog friendly area, the City Council passed the motion to allow the creation of such an Adopt-a-Spot. The 31 acres is available as a passive recreation area for the city of Portsmouth residents to use, with the special provision that dogs be allowed to run off leash through the trails.

An important part of getting the approval of the City Council was the ability to match funds with the City. A large piece of the funding came from Portsmouth Brewery owner, Peter Egleston. Peter agreed to donate $2000 to the adopt-a-spot in honor of his dog, Olive. We are extremely grateful to Peter, Joanne Francis, and Olive for their work and financial support of our efforts.

Founding Members: Carol Cooper, Geoff Crosby, Beth Powers, Midge Leiter, Dick Katz and Amanda Telford.