Roxborough Dog Park Reopening Oct. 14 To Members Only

ROXBOROUGH, PHILADELPHIA – As the Roxborough Dog Park undergoes changes after an unknown incident that occurred in early September, officials released more details on its new membership system and gave a reopening date for the park.

On Wednesday Sept. 27, officials said new memberships are available to apply for on Oct. 1 ahead of the Oct. 14 opening.

The park recently announced memberships would cost $100 and require varying levels of volunteers service.

To apply for a membership, you must provide:

• Proof of address;
• a photo of your dog;
• Pennsylvania Dog License;
  
• a copy of spay/neuter records;
  
• and a copy or tag of rabies vaccination.

Those looking to become members can pay the $100 fee in full with a 10 percent discount and take on four hours of volunteering at the park; make quarterly payments of $25 and volunteer four hours at the park; or commit to 14 hours of volunteer time. The membership is good by the household, not by the pet or pet walker, according to officials.

Interested dog owners must reapply for memberships on the park's website beginning Oct. 1. Anyone with existing information can continue to use it but must update their profiles as instructed.

The move to shift to a members only system at the park comes at a coincidental time. Officials said they planned to make changes at the park around the same time the undisclosed Sept. 7 incident occurred.

Officials said the move to a members-only system was approved in November 2016 by board members and that their timeline to implement the change and the incident happened to coincide.

How will the members-only model be enforced? Officials said members will be given a code for the lock to enter the park and giving the code to non members can lead to memberships being revoked.

On Facebook, park goers expressed concerns over the new system.

Some of the planned improvements to the park include opening a section for smaller dogs in addition to the other section, which will be for larger dogs.

Volunteers are invited to the park from 8 a.m. to noon on Saturday Oct. 14 to tackle volunteer hours early. At 1 p.m., Oct. 14, the park will officially reopen for dogs and members. The day will also feature a membership drive where dog owners can apply to be members.

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