Hamburger Helper grant could buy new fence for dog park

“A little help with dinner. A little help in your town.” That’s how Hamburger Helper’s Web site, myHometownHelper.com touts the company’s public service project.
Dennis Animal Control Officer Cheryl Malone hopes to take advantage of the company’s offer and has submitted a request for $6,000 to replace fencing at Cape Cod’s only designated dog park at the Fresh Pond Conservation Area off Route 134 in South Dennis.
The popular park, which will be seven years old in June, needs refurbishing.
“The original wire fencing is held together in places by twine, the gates are sagging and the 4-foot fence is too low, causing fear that some dogs could jump over the enclosures,” Malone wrote in her grant application. “In order to keep the dog park enclosures safe and secure for many years, we need a 5-foot chain-link fence with a top rail and two gates.”
A significant criterion in Hamburger Helper’s grant decisions is community support of their town’s request. Malone urges residents and visitors, whether they own a dog or not, to log onto the town’s Web site, town.dennis.ma.us, click on the Fresh Pond Dog Park Grant link and add a comment. “It’s to everyone’s benefit that we maintain that park and make this improvement,” she said.
Cape residents and visitors bring their dogs to the park to run and fetch, swim and socialize. The park features two large, fenced-in areas, picnic tables where owners can relax while their dogs play and two Mutt-Mitt dispensers, making it easy for owners to clean up after their pooches and leave the grounds clean for others to enjoy. “Several handicapped people bring their dogs here to exercise in safety,” Malone wrote in the grant project description.
Although the town’s Natural Resources Department maintains the park, there is no budget for improvements. “When the park was created in 2000, it was done on a shoestring, as inexpensively as possible” said acting Natural Resources Director Brian Malone, who said the fence cannot be repaired. “It’s surprising that it’s held up this long with the sheer volume of dogs using the park, especially in the spring, summer and fall,” he said.
Since September, Hamburger Helper has awarded $72,500 in grants to 17 small towns across America, but none yet in Massachusetts. The company is giving away up to $15,000 a month through June to fund initiatives to help towns with various projects.