Community Corner

Construction of New Animal Shelter Slated for September

After working tirelessly for almost two years to raise funds for a new dog park and shelter, Saturday's ribbon cutting is the start of good things to come, Denise Lucas said.

A new day is dawning for the dogs — and cats — in Riverhead Town.

Riverhead's second dog park is set to open Saturday at a ceremony from 1 p.m. until 3 p.m. at the upper parking field at Stotzky Park.

Denise Lucas, founder of the Riverhead Move the Animal Shelter, who has worked tirelessly to raise funds both for new dogs park and a new shelter for the town's animals, said this week that Saturday's kick-off is the prelude for more good things to come.

All the blueprints have been completed for the new shelter, which will be created at Enterprise Park at Calverton.

In February, with the North Fork Animal Welfare League privatizing and taking over management of the Riverhead Animal Shelter — a plan was pitched to relocate the animal shelter to Enterprise Park at Calverton.

For the past two years, Lucas had worked with her Riverhead Move the Animal Shelter foundation to raise funds toward a new animal shelter, in a new location.

Lucas has met with Riverhead Town Supervisor Sean Walter and Councilman Jim Wooten to discuss potential sites for a new animal shelter, Wooten said.

Originally, the thought was to site the facility near the dog park at EPCAL, but costs for infrastructure and a necessary expansion of the sewer district were prohibitive, Wooten said.

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Instead, the possibility of moving the animal shelter to the Henry Pfeifer Community Center was put forward.

Gillian Wood Pultz, executive director of the NFAWL, said the building was "the most feasible location at this time."

Wooten said Lucas agreed that not having to construct an entire new facility would be positive.

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Now, Lucas said, she is looking forward to starting construction on the new facility at EPCAL, hopefully by September.

Of the opening of the town's second dog park on Saturday, Lucas said, "It's a positive thing for the dog community. And it's another step in the right direction toward our shelter project."

Riverhead MTAS , a 501c3 non-profit, was formed almost two years ago after Lucas visited the town shelter and saw the need for change.

"In the past two years we have raised thousands of dollars and have paid for both of the two new dogs parks in Riverhead," Lucas said. "We will be starting the construction next month to build the town a new facility for cats and dogs."

While the town currently only accepts dogs, the goal is to include four-legged felines and move the whole facility to a more suitable location, Lucas said.

Saturday's festivities for the new Duke Dog Park will include a DJ, face painting, T-shirt sales,  dog and people treats, and characters, including Blues Clues, Miss Kitty, Big Tan Dog and the Riverhead MTAS mascot, Duke — the name of Lucas' dog, and whom the park was named after – for the kids.

"This is very exciting news for our dog loving community," Lucas said.

Lucas has received widespread support for her efforts to help the town's animals and was named Riverhead Patch's person of the year in 2012.


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