Wareham community gathers 'fur' dog park celebration
Grayson, 6, giggles with a tennis ball launcher in hand at the Wareham Dog Park on Saturday, April 18. Photos by Grace Roche
Sally Morrison thanks paw-tiers for coming to the celebration. 
A trio of Boston terriers play at the park. 
Hilary Green blesses the dog park and its visitors. 
Alaina Paras, 5, reaches for a cuddly puppy. 
Winnie the yellow Labrador retriever catches a tennis ball. 
Bud the double doodle talks a walk. 
Dogs gather around Robert Ransom, waiting for him to toss a frisbee. 
Dog-themed art, poems and essays were on display during the event. 
One piece of art shell-abrates a pair of dogs.
Grayson, 6, giggles with a tennis ball launcher in hand at the Wareham Dog Park on Saturday, April 18. Photos by Grace Roche
Sally Morrison thanks paw-tiers for coming to the celebration.
A trio of Boston terriers play at the park.
Hilary Green blesses the dog park and its visitors.
Alaina Paras, 5, reaches for a cuddly puppy.
Winnie the yellow Labrador retriever catches a tennis ball.
Bud the double doodle talks a walk.
Dogs gather around Robert Ransom, waiting for him to toss a frisbee.
Dog-themed art, poems and essays were on display during the event.
One piece of art shell-abrates a pair of dogs.
Who let the dogs out? Partygoers celebrating the Wareham Dog Park’s third birthday, of course.
Dogs and their owners gathered Saturday, April 18 for a paw-ty celebrating the park’s opening. They chowed down on human- and dog-friendly treats, gathered with friends old and new, and received a blessing from Deacon Hilary Green from Church of Good Shepherd.
The celebration was backed by a dog-gone playlist, with canine themed songs including “Hot Dog!” from "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse," “Dog Days Are Over” by Florence and the Machine and others.
The dogs kept busy fetching tennis balls, running around and sniffing out new friends.
Many of the attendees are regulars at the park, and enjoyed seeing many familiar faces at the party.
Wareham resident John Paras said he brings his Boston terrier to the park about five days a week, often with his 5-year-old granddaughter Alaina.
He said he likes seeing the same group of people consistently, and even if he doesn’t know them by name he recognizes many of them.
“Sookie just loves it here,” he said of his puppy. “It gives her a chance to run, play with other dogs, and be social with people and dogs. It's an ideal place.”
Paras said Alaina insists they go to the dog park whenever she visits her grandfather, and he loves watching her enjoy herself there.
“She's just going dog-to-dog with a smile on her face, socializing with people,” he said. “It makes her happy, and it makes me happy.”
Alaina said she likes playing both with Sookie and with the other dogs at the park.
“They're very fun dogies, they're all so cuddly ” she said. “Some of them like me and other ones don't. They're very cute and they're very playful, sometimes they are very silly.”
Sally Morrison, a member of the Dog Park Affiliation of Wareham and the event organizer, said she was happy with how many people turned up to celebrate the park’s third year, and said despite limited advertising a strong group of regulars came.
Since the last party, she said she’s seen relationships blossom. The park has a separate area for small and large dogs, and Morrison said she’s glad to see more people mingle between the two sections.
“This year things seem to be easier," she said "Relationships have really established, and people look after each other.”
