The $775,000 project features new amenities for dogs and their owners, a redesigned entrance, and an agility course.
By Jet Skoufalos | April 25, 2024
Tom Masullo and Connor. Credit: Jet Skoufalos.
Six months ago, Camden County officials broke ground on improvements to the Cooper River “Pooch Park” on North Park Drive in Cherry Hill.
On Thursday afternoon, dog lovers from across the region celebrated its grand opening with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.
“It’s a community, gathered on the love of our pups,” said Tom Masullo of Collingswood, who became a resident liaison to county organizers during the development of the park.
“It gives both them and us a place to play and find our zen,” he said.
Masullo, a frequent patron of the previous dog park with his three-year-old Goldendoodle, Connor, said the redesign “gives us another place to enjoy the outdoors.
“It’s exactly what we hoped for,” he said.
The Dog Park at Cooper River Park joins other dog parks across the region, including Bow Wow Dog Park in Pennsauken, Croft Farm in Cherry Hill, Timber Creek in Gloucester Township, and Freedom Barks in Medford.
“These are places where our community comes together, and we all connect on one thing, and that is the love of our four legged friends,” Masullo said.
“I think that’s just a great way to build community, support one another and make the world a little bit better.”
The improved Dog Park at Cooper River Park contains fenced-in areas, an agility course, and a new water station. Credit: Jet Skoufalos.
From concept to construction, the two-and-a-half-year project cost about $775,000, including demolition of the existing park, Camden County Commissioner Jeffrey Nash said.
Nash credited community members like Masullo with providing input into the design of the new park, and the Camden County Parks Department with its construction.
“There was a large demand, but a bad product,” the commissioner said of the former Cooper River Pooch Park. “Dog parks are an important part of the community, and a proper one was needed.”
The park redesign began with new stone work, curbing, sidewalks, and handicap-accessible parking spaces at its entrance, and continued across the greenspace, with fresh topsoil, seeding, sodding, and irrigation.
Fencing areas were installed to separate small and large dogs, plus agility equipment, a pavilion, benches, and picnic tables for spectator viewing.
From left: Lynn Perrone, Gojo, Delilah, and Cascey Vanatta. Credit: Jet Skoufalos.
Various dog waste boxes have been installed inside the different areas of the park.
At the gate is a water fountain, with basins of different heights to accommodate dogs of all sizes, along with a bottle-filling station, and a trash can (food products are not allowed in the park).
Lynn Perrone said the park will be great for socializing Gojo, her one-and-a-half-year-old Akita Husky mix.
“There’s a great sense of community here,” Perrone said.
Gojo will have more room to run, and she’s looking forward to him enjoying the agility course.
Cascey Vanatta, who followed the improvements to the park as it was being constructed, said she’s looking forward to spending more time with her six-year-old beagle mix, Delilah, there.
“There’s more separation, which is really nice, and there’s extra space to run,” Vanatta said. “It’s a great way to meet people.”
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