It Takes a Village

The happy trio overlooking the park are Roger, Rambo, and a husky who wishes to remain anonymous.

Sit, Stay, Play

A labor of love transforms the Mario Lanza Dog Park, and the Queen Village canine community is doggone thrilled.

By Lucy Erdelac

In September, a dynamic duo from QVK9 went to work at Mario Lanza Dog Park: sweeping up errant stones that always spill out of the dog park onto the sidewalks and leveling the stones in the park itself. Andrew Pfeiffer and Meghan Rasmussen, coleaders of this volunteer-driven group, also rebuilt the picnic table and two benches, both much loved by neighborhood dogs.

But as dog park frequenters know, replacing and raking stones are only a short-term surface solution. According to Andrew and Meghan, who have done the research, there’s no middle ground between stones and K9 grass (the surface dogs love at Seger Dog Park).

QVK9’s vision is to transform Mario Lanza Dog Park by installing the same high-quality turf found at Seger—one that would do away with vagrant stones. Although the heartfelt desire of all Queen Village dog parents, the project comes with a hefty $45,000 price tag.

QVNA is the fiscal sponsor of QVK9. This means that memberships in QVK9

Andrew Pfeiffer surveys a cleaned-up park. Meghan Rasmussen takes a break from sweeping up.

and donations for the park’s resurfacing are accepted by QVNA and receive the association’s nonprofit 501(c)(3) tax advantages. To donate to this volunteerdriven improvement project, visit bit.ly/ MarioLanzaDogPark. ■

The new bench and picnic table.

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