Spring is here. Are you and your people and canine-friendly dog ready to go for a dip in the pond? Dogs and their people are invited to romp at Rocky Top Dog Park, 4106 Route 27, in South Brunswick, to benefit the International Doodle Group, a rescue and educational organization on Saturday, April 28. Don’t forget your dog, shot records, and a towel as you both will be ready for the swim pond. The rain date is Sunday, April 29.##M:[more]##
International Doodle Group, a not-for-profit Doodle rescue and educational organization (IDOG), benefits from the day. All dogs are invited to the day featuring doodles including Labradoodle and Golden Doodles. Half of the gate receipts will go to IDOG.
The owner of Rocky Top, Gretchen Zimmer, moved to Plainsboro in the mid-1980s and to West Windsor in 1995. “When I first started working on the project in 1997, my Brittany was young, and I needed a place for him to run,” she says. “At the same time, I dreamed of a career change that would involve dogs, but was not quite sure exactly how that desire would materialize.” Both the Brittany and yellow Labrador Retriever are now considered old by Zimmer.
“I did not want to be a groomer, a boarding facility was not appealing, and although training was closest to my interest, that wasn’t quite it either,” she says. “At the time I began considering a private dog park, there was only one public park in this area — the one in Lawrenceville’s Village Park, and that one was very small.” By the time Rocky Top opened four years later, there was a dog park in Plainsboro, and one in Somerset. “But neither of these have more than one fenced area, trees for shade, lights for evening use — and definitely no swim pond!”
Last summer Zimmer received high honors from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and Rocky Top Dog Park was named one of the organization’s top 10 dog parks.
The entry fee is $10 a dog ($2 per dog for each additional dog in the same household). Although there is no charge for people with the dog, they have to be at least eight years-old to enter the fenced area. There are benches outside the fenced area for children and senior citizens to sit and watch the dogs in the pond. “There is nothing for sale,” says Zimmer.
Dog parks give a dog a chance to play with other dogs, go through agility courses, fetch balls and frisbees, and gain social skills. The grassy, two-acre canine playground with a pond is surrounded by 70-foot-tall trees. Rocky Top has socials and playgroups and on weekends Zimmer hosts puppy play sessions in the upper fenced area for puppies up to seven months of age, and a play session for small breed dogs.
— Lynn Miller
Doodle Romp, Rocky Top Dog Park, 4106 Route 27, South Brunswick, 732-297-6527. Benefit day for the International Doodle Group, a rescue and educational organization. Bring your dog, shot records, and a towel. Children eight and older and welcome. Rain date Sunday, April 29. Saturday, April 28, 2 p.m.
