By Nancy E. Hassel, LIPetPlace.com

In the past few weeks two new dog parks have opened on Long Island for dog owners and their pups to enjoy.

The first opening on Sunday, June 8, 2014 was held in the village of Southampton with a ribbon cutting ceremony with Mayor Mark Elpey with his wife Marianne and their dog along with the Animal Rescue Fund of the Hamptons, (ARF) and the Southampton Animal Shelter Foundation who also hosted Hampton’s Dog Walk immediately following.

Zoe Kamitses of ARF and Mayor Mark Epley of Southampton Village

This much needed new addition boasts 1-full acre of fenced in doggie bliss.  At the opening approximately 100 dogs were running, playing, rolling in the grass as their owners looked on with joy.  100 dogs, not one incident doggie growls – almost as if they all knew this was their place to just be and have fun.

The park is adorned with benches, poop pick up bag stations, an adorable sculpture of a dog – but of course.  There is also a founders rock, which the dogs were, well marking as you can imagine.   This park is a wonderful addition to the already dog friendly village of Southampton in which a lot of the beaches you can bring your dogs to and also have area hiking trails.  And now residents do not have to drive up to Springs in East Hampton where the only other dog park on the South Fork is located.  The Lola Prentice Dog park is located right in the heart of Southampton Village on Windmill lane next to the police station.  There is free parking right in front of the park and is open from dawn to dusk.

The organizers of the park are looking into to bringing in a water line into the park to install a pump or watering station.  While the park is one open acre – their may be plans to make a section of the park for little dogs.

To see more pictures from the opening day of the park, click here!

The 2nd dog park that opened was this past Saturday, June 21, 2014 in Dix Hills – however it is not a fenced in park but beautiful woodland trails nearly 2-miles at the Dix Hills Park.  Techinically it always had dogs being walked in there, but it is now officially a dog friendly place to walk with your dog.  LI-Dog was on hand for the ribbon cutting as well as officials from the Town of Huntington, and many excited dog owners.  LI-Dog lead a Pack Walk through the trails, gave out maps to anyone who was there to follow along, and information about the park.  To see more pictures from the park opening click here! Contact LI-Dog for more information about the park.

By Nancy E. Hassel, LIPetPlace.com

Doggie Day Trip – Cold Spring Harbor, NY

If you are one that likes to hike with your dog and do a challenging trail – you have to head to Cold Spring Harbor, NY on the North Shore of Long Island and go to the Cold Spring Harbor State Park.  One of the few State parks on Long Island, (Montauk, Belmont Lake State Park), that are dog friendly.  The entrance to the trail is on Harbor road right past the village, you will pull into a gravel parking lot on the east side of Harbor Road and across the street from the boat ramp.  Recently I went with fellow Long Island Pet Professional Member Ellen Ganci of SnapDogDesigns a good friend of mine and her dog Dobby –  who you will see is the star of this doggie day trip.  A short drive from Huntington, you will find the quaint village of Cold Spring Harbor, NY.  I remember going their as a kid, never to hike but to go into their shops and have lunch – it always seemed so far away as a kid.  I did not know about this trail until the fall and have already hiked it a few times – the best part is that you can bring your pup with you, leashed of course.

This is not a hike for the faint of heart, however there were kids on the trail as well as very fit seniors hiking, as long as you and your dog are walking regularly on decent distance walks, you can do it.  The best part is you can decided how long or short you want to go. This trail is part of the greenbelt trail system on LI and you can go all the way to Plainview following this particular part of the trail.  We did about 4.5 miles round trip with Dobby and that was the perfect distance for a day trip hike with a dog.  The elevation according to my MapMyWalk app on my phone was 228 feet high – and that was multiple hills up and down!

Dobby on the way up the first part of the hike, yes, lots of steps and watch where you’re going!

Almost to the top of the very first climb. As you can see beautiful views!

If you do go for the hike, be sure to have water with your for yourself and your dog, a doggie first aid kit couldn’t hurt as their are many steps to climb over, roots,and rocks on many parks of the trails.  You should wear good sneakers for this (or hiking boots).  Watch your dog and take breaks if you need to for yourself and your pup.  If it is too warm out – it might be too much for your dog who could get easily overheated.  An morning or early evening hike, (before it gets too dark to see), may be a suitable time for this.  We went around 9am and it took under 2 hours to do the hike.

Dobby taking a sip of water!

Can you see Dobby is smiling in every picture?

Another pup we met along the way!

Here is a map of the hike we did.

Dobby was on leash the entire time, we had him pose for a few pictures ahead of us so you could see the trails.

Mini me? Little Chihuahua we met along the way, adorable!

After the hike we went into Cold Spring Harbor Village, and while some of the stores were closed there is plenty of window shopping to do with your pup, you can grab a quick bite to eat and sit outside in the village or walk down to the shore.  See some interesting facts about Cold Spring Harbor below the photos!

BOL! Couldn’t resist! That sign was in front of one of the boutiques in the village.

Cold Spring Harbor is about a 1 hour drvie from New York City and a 5 minute drive from down town Huntington Village, NY. Once a whaling village there is also a whaling museum and also home to the Cold Spring Harbor Fish Hatchery.  It’s easy to feel like you’ve stepped back in time while wandering the village and you may also see some guinea hens walking town around too!  If you do go on a doggie day trip with your pup to CSH, post your comments below and let us know!

From the NYS Parks website:
“The park is comprised of 40 acres of hilly terrain that offer scenic vistas of the Cold Spring Harbor. It features a mixed hardwood forest with notable large oak specimens that measure three feet in diameter, as well as thickets of wild mountain laurel. The area is ideal for observing spring and fall migrations of a variety of songbirds, and is home to great horned owls and red-tailed hawks. The park serves as the northern trailhead of the Nassau Suffolk Greenbelt Trail that extends to Bethpage State Park and eventually the south shore of Nassau County.”

by Nancy E. Hassel, LIPetPlace.com

On another cold and snowy night here on LI, my dog does not stay outside too long – as much as he loves the snow – he is out no more than 5 minutes.  So I can’t imagine being inside a warm home and having my dog tied up on a horribly inhumane heavy chain that limits the space he can walk around, a rickety dog house, or even worse an open wire crate for him and a frozen water bowl in these below freezing temperatures.  Yet one of Long Island’s dirty secrets is that this very prevelant here – and there is no reason for it.  There are tremendous rescue groups who go into to neighborhoods across LI and in a non-judgemental way – help the dogs, and educate the owners, provide proper dog houses, straw, light weight humane ties outs, food, water and help teach the owners to bring the dogs in when it is really really cold.  Many even provide veterinary care for the pets.  If it were not for these rescue groups like, Almost Home Rescue & Adoption, Unchained NY, Guardians of Rescue, Break the Chain and others – many dogs would definitely be dead this winter due to freezing to death.

As you read this and your dog is snuggle at your feet or in one of their many comfy cozy dog beds, (my dog has 3 different beds!),  I bet you can not imagine that this happens in many areas on LI.  Some of it can be lack of education on the owners part (I know what you’re thinking!), some of it is cultural i.e. the owners are first generation immigrants and that is how they kept their dogs in their countries and don’t know any better, and a lot of it is plain ingorance and animal abuse.

This past Friday, on Valentine’s day nearly 100 people showed up at Blydenburgh County Dog Park in Hauppuage, NY to bring awareness to this problem and to draw attention that not enough is being done by local and state law to protect animals from being left outdoors.  The event was organized by Linda Klampfl and her team at Almost Home Rescue & Adoption Inc. of LI and quickly many other rescue groups who work day in and out in the frigid temps to help LI’s chained dogs also joined in on the protest and press conference.

Photo courtesy of Almost Home.

If you read the NYS Argicutliture and Markets law Appropriate shelter for dogs left outdoors, it states:

Any person who owns or has custody or control of a dog that is
  left outdoors shall provide it with shelter appropriate  to  its  breed,
  physical  condition  and  the climate. Any person who knowingly violates
  the  provisions  of  this  section  shall  be  guilty  of  a  violation,
  punishable  by  a  fine of not less than fifty dollars nor more than one
  hundred dollars for a first offense, and a fine of  not  less  than  one
  hundred dollars nor more than two hundred fifty dollars for a second and
  subsequent  offenses.  Beginning  seventy-two  hours  after  a charge of
  violating this section, each day that a defendant fails to  correct  the
  deficiencies in the dog shelter for a dog that he or she owns or that is
  in  his  or  her  custody or control and that is left outdoors, so as to
  bring it into compliance with  the  provisions  of  this  section  shall
  constitute a separate offense.

First how crappy a $50 fine for the 1st offense? 2nd, 72 hours they have to correct it.  Think about how cold it is outside with all that snow on the ground?

For all dogs that  are  left  outdoors  in  inclement  weather,  a
  housing  facility,  which  must:  (1)  have  a  waterproof  roof; (2) be
  structurally  sound  with  insulation  appropriate  to  local   climatic
  conditions and sufficient to protect the dog from inclement weather; (3)
  be  constructed  to  allow each dog adequate freedom of movement to make
  normal postural adjustments, including the ability  to  stand  up,  turn
  around  and  lie  down  with  its  limbs outstretched; and (4) allow for
  effective removal of excretions, other waste material; dirt  and  trash.
  The  housing  facility  and the area immediately surrounding it shall be
  regularly cleaned to maintain a healthy and sanitary environment and  to
  minimize health hazards.
    4.  Inadequate  shelter  may  be  indicated  by  the appearance of the
  housing facility itself, including but not limited to, size,  structural
  soundness,  evidence  of crowding within the housing facility, healthful
  environment in the area immediately surrounding such facility, or by the
  appearance or physical condition of the dog.
    5. Upon a finding of any violation of this section, any  dog  or  dogs
  seized  pursuant  to  the  provisions of this article that have not been
  voluntarily surrendered by the owner or custodian or forfeited  pursuant
  to  court  order  shall  be returned to the owner or custodian only upon
   proof that appropriate shelter as required  by  this  section  is  being provided.

In this day and age, I think the state can come up with a much better law to protect companion animals such as our pets. Or wait how about some free education – or way to help the dogs, owners, etc. like the rescue groups are doing?

I remember watching Animal Planet’s ‘Animal Cops’ and so many times the ASPCA officer’s hands were tied to making an arrest or taking action, because the owner was in within the limit of the NYS law – but the pet was clearly neglected or suffering.  When asked about support from officials about the laws, many of the rescue groups in Suffolk county said they sure feel the lack of support from goverment animal organizations.

Linda Klampfl of Almost Home said, “The two key points is that we need stronger, more specific laws and we need an organization who will enforce it. The Suffolk County Police Department tells us to call the Suffolk County SPCA because there is nothing they (SPCD) can do.  But the SPCA does NOTHING to prosecute owners or enforce the laws.”

Photo Credit: Unchained NY

Photo credit, Almost Home Rescue & Adoption, Inc.

by Nancy E. Hassel, LIPetPlace.com

What a whirlwind of Westminster events in New York City this weekend!  Starting with the first ever Master’s Agility Championship this past Saturday – which was a blur of flying dogs – and as you may have heard there were many mixed breeds competing.  If you have never watched agility in person, I would highly recommend planning to attend the event next year – you won’t be disappointed.  It was so much fun to watch every dog, the super fast ones making it through the course in 30 seconds flat and the older slower dogs meandering through – which was pure entertainment for the crowd.

This American Eskimo dog flew through the course!

This doxie wasn’t too fast and wasn’t too slow.

This dog was Logan, and 11 year old Amercian Staffordshire Terrier, aka pit!

And now we are at the 2nd day at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show – for the evening’s Best in Show.  If you are reading this and have always thought about coming, especially if you are on Long Island or in the tri-state area and can easily get to Madison Square Garden, and you are a dog lover, there is no reason not too attend.  This year there were upwards of 3,000 dogs competing for the coveted title of Best in Show.  This is the 138th annual event of the show – and the excitement in the air is like any of your favorite sporting event.  It is for our love of dogs that bring people from around the world to the event.  I have been to Westminster at least 8 times and look forward to it ever year – for the dogs of course!

Beautiful Irish Setter

Lion or dog? Tibetan Mastiff!

Everyone loves a Golden Retriever

Portuguese Water dog

American Staffordshire Terrier – gorgeous!

New to Westminster this year the Chinook.

To see a lot more pictures click here and some Westminster Dog Breed Trivia click here!

And the Best in Show winner is Sky the Wire Fox Terrier!

by Nancy E. Hassel, LIPetPlace.com

Howl-o-ween pet events, parades and costume contests were everywhere on Long Island and New York City this past weekend!  Literally from Southamton to NYC, dogs were dressed in very elaborate costumes to a simple bandana.  It’s quite adorable to see, and a lot of the dogs love all the attention as you can see them strutt their stuff while in costume.

This adogable bumble bee’s owner was also dressed in a bee costume!

This scarecrow pup wasn’t so scary, but so cute he almost didn’t look real!

Not quite sure what this costume was, but this little guy clearly can’t have any chocolate!

Handsome fire fighter!

Super beagles save the day!

Do you have an angel or devil on your shoulder? Izzy & Igor, everyone loves a bulldog!

Part peacock, part dog!

A creep crawly spider that is just too cute!

For more PICTURES of dog costumes from throughout the weekend, click HERE and HERE!  Like your favorite!