A Fun Place to Exercise and Play

 The Hudson Dog Park, located in Hudson, New York, at the corner of North Second and Dock streets, officially opened on October 26, 2019, after a decade of effort to make it happen. The dog park is situated on land owned by the City of Hudson, but it was built with $14,000 raised over a period of five years from more than 120 individual donors in two GoFundMe campaigns and from the not-for-profit Hudson Parks Conservancy. Designed in accordance with dog park best practices, with the help of a dog behaviorist, the dog park has an entrance vestibule and separate sections for small and large dogs. The City of Hudson Department of Public Works mows the lawn, removes the trash, and plows snow from the driveway and parking lot in winter, but other maintenance and improvements are carried out by volunteers.   

The Hudson Dog Park started out with the minimum needed for a dog park--an open grassy space, fences, trash barrels, and poop bag dispensers. A survey done soon after the park opened helped identify and prioritize desired amenities to the park. In Spring 2021, funds were raised to bring water to the dog park. In September 2021, the Hudson Dog Park won a $5,000 Bark for Your Park™ grant from    

 PetSafe® to build a shade structure. In Spring 2022, the grant money and additional funds were used to install a pergola and furnish it with metal benches. In Fall 2024, to mark the park's 5th Anniversary, engineered wood fiber was installed in areas of the park where heavy paw traffic prevented grass from surviving. The next project will create a landscaped berm with trees,  to provide shade for both the large dog and small dog sections of the park.

Fundraising for the dog park continues--for future enhancements to the park and such recurring expenses as poop bags and fence maintenance. Click below to make a donation using PayPal.