Across the region, it's a dog's life

A new breed of dog parks is popping up in grassy meadows, on unused sections of parks, and on condominium rooftops across the region, reflecting a national trend.

Off-leash dog parks are increasing more than any other type of park in America's largest cities, according to the Trust for Public Land, a nonprofit that promotes land conservation. The organization issued a report last year that said off-leash dog parks grew 20 percent in the last five years.

Last week, Lumberton Township established a 2-acre dog park on the former Burlington County Farm Fairgrounds. It has a fenced-in area for small dogs and another one for larger breeds.

Moorestown recently obtained a $180,000 county grant to set aside an area for pooches to romp at the Swedes Run fields off Westfield Road. A pavilion and picnic benches are also planned at the site for the dog owners.

Another dog park is planned for a small space atop a roof in a condominium project now being built in Fishtown.

Meanwhile, a venerable dog park created 19 years ago in Medford Township, Burlington County, continues to attract dog lovers and is about to get an upgrade. Located at the rear of the spacious Freedom Park, the 40-acre dog run has become so popular that an estimated 800 dog owners now use it weekly, said Beth Portocalis, who supervises the town's Parks and Recreation Department.

Unlike many of the newer parks, the Medford dog park "uses the natural topography of the area, the woods and hedgerow" to keep the unleashed dogs from running off, Portocalis said. Dogs can also take a dip in the stream and the waterways that run through the land, and there are obstacle courses and bridges that were built by the Eagle Scouts, she said.

"It's why it is such a popular attraction - the dogs don't just run in a pen with other dogs, back and forth," she said. USA Today, she said, recently rated it one of the top 10 dog parks in the country.

But all those paws scampering through the fields and wooded areas of the park over the years have taken a toll. Medford plans to launch a $25,000 erosion control project next month to keep a 500-foot stretch of the banks along the southwest branch of the Rancocas Creek from degrading, Portocalis said.

Township Engineer Chris Noll said in an interview that "a biologically manufactured mat will be installed to stabilize the slope" and that topseed will be planted. "It will reduce the erosion so the trees don't fall into the creek" and will keep the area downstream from filling up with silt, he said.

Noll said that section of the park will be closed to the public until at least November.

During a visit to the dandelion-covered park last week Jim and Judy Wert watched as their black Lab, Dakota, swam in the creek under the towering trees. Jim Wert, a trustee of Freedom Barks Inc., a nonprofit that helps the township maintain the park through fund-raisers and grants, said he had been bringing Dakota to the park every day for seven years. That includes frigid days and snowstorms, he said, chuckling.

"I like it because it's outside and I'm with the dog and it's quiet here," said Wert, a Medford resident. Quiet to a point, that is. Wert said there were many regulars who come and that they all have become good friends.

The dog park rules require owners to maintain control of their pets and remove any dog waste.

"You bond a lot and really get to know people here," Judy Wert, his wife, said. She said the nonprofit also places containers around the park for the dog waste and organizes cleanup afternoons to remove litter from the park.

Judy Wert said that the closed section of the park this summer will be felt because it's "the most beautiful" part of the dog park. There is another waterway in which the dogs can swim, but it is not as large or as scenic, she said. The embankment suffers from "natural erosion, but they want to do an experiment to see if they can slow it down," she said.

For Tony Pagan's small dogs, the temporary closing of the creek won't be a problem. The Southampton resident said his two dogs, Snookie, a Yorkie, and Chewie, a mixed-breed rescue dog, don't swim. While Chewie mostly stays by his side when he strolls through the open fields, he said that Snookie likes to "run loose and look at the other dogs and smell them and talk dog language."

"I like this little park," said Pagan, who also has been using it for seven years. "It's nicely kept and the people are friendly. And, the dogs can move their legs and run loose and get some exercise."

jhefler@phillynews.com 856-779-3224 @JanHefler www.philly.com/burlcobuzz