When the chips are down, Squadron gets the bark to the park

Brooklyn dogs give appl-paws

July 10, 2015 By Mary Frost Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Tina Turner, a 3-year-old pit bull/greyhound mix, enjoyed Hillside Dog Park on Friday. Photo by Mary Frost

Share this:

Brooklyn dog owners have learned that when the chips are down, state Sen. Daniel Squadron is their man.

Literally.

Residents who take their pets to Hillside Dog Park in Brooklyn Heights recently reached out to his office asking for his help in getting more wood chips delivered to the shady, rolling expanse tucked next to the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway.

The wood chips, recycled from tree pruning and Christmas trees, keep the dust (and the smell) down, but weren’t scheduled to be delivered for a month. The chips are spread by volunteers organized by Friends of Hillside Dog Park.

A Squadron spokesperson, calling Hillside Park a heavily utilized area, told the Brooklyn Eagle that Sen. Squadron was able to push up the delivery of the bark by two weeks, to July 14. The delivery was supposed to take place in August.

“This is a fabulous dog park,” said Brooklyn Heights resident Phillip Mezzatesta, enjoying Hillside Park on Friday with his energetic 3-year-old pit bull/greyhound mix, Tina Turner.

“People come here from all over Brooklyn and the city. It’s a wonderful resource for the neighborhood,” he said. “Interestingly, I see a lot of tourists on the Brooklyn Heights circuit taking pictures. Tina Turner is probably famous in Japan.”

Mezzatesta said he is “delighted with the efforts of the Parks Department,” adding that Sen. Squadron’s fast action on getting more woodchips “is much appreciated.”

He took in Tina Turner from a non-profit rescue organization, Mezzatesta said. “She was a skinny 27 pounds. You could see her ribs and she was terribly submissive.”

The beautiful dog has gained 20 pounds in the last 18 months “and is full of health and confidence. She’s delightful,” he said.

As her owner spoke to this reporter, Tina Turner shot like a bullet across the park’s hills with several other dogs, and then enjoyed a dip in a small wading pool.

“It’s an example of the community system working out very well,” Mezzatesta said. “I took in a neglected animal; we come to the park every day and socialize with other dog owners.”

Tina Turner, in foreground, enjoys a dip in the wading pool with a friend at Hillside Dog Park. Photo by Mary Frost