Katerina Medina is the mother of 3 young girls. She writes:
When we moved to Westport in the summer of 2022, I could no longer withstand my daughters’ pressure to get a dog.
Our beloved Mishka is now a 1-year-old German shepherd. He is growing into his name, which means “Little Bear.”
A few short months back though, Mishka looked more like a fluffball who all humans wanted to pet — and some not very friendly dogs aggressively wanted to show him his place in the dogs’ hierarchy.
So with Mishka came not only joy, but also worries and responsibilities. After enjoying the local beaches last winter, we were forced to search for a new venue to walk Mishka in spring.
Mishka enjoys a Compo Beach sunset.
That is how we discovered Winslow Park. From the first glance it struck me as an underdeveloped gem in the middle of Westport.
While some may prefer to see Winslow the way it is now, underutilized and not well maintained, I could not help but think how this park would benefit from having an enclosed dog space where young puppies, small breeds, fragile old dogs with health issues or dogs still learning to come back on recall, would run and play safely.
There would be well-paved roads, and beautifully landscaped native shrubs and flowers; maybe even a playground in a corner field at the Post Road and Compo Road North, while leaving most of the park and its trails to the hikers and responsible dog owners who may stroll the park instead of having their pets play in a confined space.
This vision was reinforced by an aggressive dog, who bit Mishka.
While most dog owners and their pets were friendly and happy to provide dog training advice, a very few did not belong in an open play area.
Having fun at Winslow Park. (Photo/Mark Mathias)
I did not feel safe having curious young Mishka attempting to interact with their aggressive, imposing dogs. After seeing another puppy injured by the same dog that attacked Mishka, we stopped visiting Winslow Park until recently.
And while dog bullies are less likely to pick on Mishka now, I still think an option to separate vulnerable dogs from all others would be a great addition to Winslow Park.
If the above is not a convincing argument, think of public safety. There are no barriers at Winslow Park to prevent dogs from running away. It is not surprising to read about runaway dogs, or those saved from traffic by good Samaritans.
While we are lucky to live in such a caring community, safety measures must be in place.
An accident last month prompted me to share my concerns with the community.
My mother was visiting. She was driving home from Trader Joe’s when a dog running away from Winslow jumped on Compo Road North, right in front of her.
She swerved to avoid hitting the dog. She hit the curb instead, getting a flat tire.
While she was shaken by the experience, I thought of how this event ended in the least bad scenario of all possible ones.
What if she jumped a curb and hurt someone else, or damaged someone’s property? What if she ended up injured? What if a dog was killed?
Winslow Park (Photo/Laura Robinson)
It is my opinion that the town should apply all efforts to prevent these sorts of situations in the future. With the growing human population, the dog population grows too. While most dog owners are responsible and caring, we as a public cannot count on their pets always acting as directed.
Local authorities should consider putting an enclosed dog play area at Winslow Park, or redeveloping it altogether to accommodate a wider public while still allowing our beloved pets their space.
