By jennifer kohlhepp
Staff Writer
VERONICA YANKOWSKI Patron Leah Holt (r) prepares to toss a ball for playmates Coco and Kelly as Byrdy Sincak looks on in the 1.5-acre Main Dog Park area at the Rocky Top Dog Park in South Brunswick.
Dog park owner Gretchen Zimmer and numerous pooch owners recently celebrated her first year of prosperity in Middlesex County.
The Rocky Top Dog Park, South Brunswick, which held a first-anniversary celebration Nov. 23, is a privately owned and operated recreation area for dog owners and their "best friends" from areas in and around southern Middlesex County.
Patrons come from East Brunswick, South Brunswick, North Brunswick and as far away as Pennsylvania, boasting a membership of 225 canines and representing 200 households from the Middlesex County area, according to Zimmer.
Located in wooded surroundings, 2 miles north of the Kingston section on Route 27, Rocky Top provides a safe place for the exercise and proper socialization of pet dogs.
"It is great to see the dogs interact," dog owner Christine Marran said. "This place is wonderful because Gretchen screens the dogs. Aggressive dogs aren’t allowed here, whereas in a municipal park you run a very high risk of your dog getting into a fight with an aggressive animal," she said.
The park provides owners with an opportunity to exercise and bond with their pets on foot trails, while benches allow for socialization with people of similar interests, Zimmer said.
"For most breeds, a leash walk around the block does not fulfill the required exercise to keep the dogs both physically and behaviorally fit," Zimmer said.
"I just moved from a house with a really big garden to a townhouse. Snowball’s activity level went straight down. It’s horrible to have to keep big dogs on a leash. They have to run and play," dog owner Zoe Clark said.
With 7-foot secure fencing, double-gated entries to prevent escapes, and an electronic card entry system to control access, the dog park provides a safe place for the dogs to run free, Zimmer said.
"Many communities have strict leash laws, prohibiting dog owners from releasing their dogs to run free," dog owner Maury Weinberg said. "This is the perfect environment for the animals who thrive because of the exercise and the socialization."
Weinberg’s yellow lab, Casey, befriended a chocolate lab named Kelly. "The two are inseparable," he said.
"They’re always wriggling and wrestling in the leaves when they are together in the park," said Kelly’s owner, Byrdy Sincak.
"I love the fact that I can bring her here to run around. Otherwise, she’s a handful for an older person," Sincak said.
Zimmer said she decided to open the dog park after she and her Brittany hunting hound "got kicked out of the stadium area at the local high school."
"He loved running around there," she said. "He’s one of the many breeds you just can’t take to the park on a leash. He needs exercise," she said.
Zimmer, who thought it would only take a year to develop and open the dog park, spent four years developing her grassroots enterprise. Although she had completed small business courses and workshops, prior to this venture, she had no previous business experience.
"Luckily, it only took me four years to go through the process," Zimmer said. "It took me a year to find the right location and to work with an engineer to develop an entire site plan. Then, I had to apply for township approvals. I had to testify before the Planning Board, get a contractor to take on the construction phase, and obtain a loan, all before the actual construction phase," Zimmer said.
The site is divided into three separate fenced-in areas. The main area is a fenced-in wooded area which slopes toward Carter’s Brook. Zimmer said this area measures 1.6 acres with a 70-foot tree canopy of ash, oak, tulip, poplar and cedar trees. Rock formations are scattered about with winding paths into the woods that the dogs love to run around and investigate, Zimmer said.
The main park also houses the swimming pond, supplied with water from a well located on the property. At 25 feet in diameter and 2 feet deep, it has an "Aquascape" design, which uses mechanical and biological filtration systems to keep it clean, Zimmer said.
The secondary area, the Small Dog Park, measures 6,000 square feet. This park shares a common, double-gated entry area with the Main Park, and is separated from the Main Park on one side by a 5-foot solid wooden fence.
In addition to small dogs, shy or timid dogs and elderly dogs use this area. Zimmer defines a small dog as "less than 45 pounds, and/or less than 19 inches at the withers."
All dogs that have access to the Small Dog Park also have access to the main Dog Park.
The "Puppy Park" is a separate 4,000-square-foot fenced-in area just for puppies. It is located a good distance from the other two fenced-in areas of the dog park. The monthly fee to use the "Puppy Park" is $10.
"A puppy is any canine less than 6 months of age," Zimmer said.
Zimmer organizes a number of special gatherings to bring certain dog types and their owners together. She holds "puppy gatherings" every Saturday and Sunday in the puppy yard. Small dogs get together on Sunday afternoons. Upon occasion Zimmer said she likes to organize specific breed gatherings. On Halloween, owners were encouraged to dress their dogs in costumes.
"Casey won first prize of $100 with his cowboy outfit," Weinberg said.
Lights make the park accessible in the evenings during the winter months. With a 32-car stone parking lot, parking is nearby and plentiful. Other features include conveniently located plastic bag dispensers and trash receptacles. Access to drinking water and hoses to wash off muddy mutts are also available.
Use of the park is based on a monthly membership fee, Zimmer said. There are three types of membership: the "Rambunctious Rover," the "Suave Sadie" and the "Fi-Fi," Zimmer said.
The first, a $35 full membership, provides owners and their pets access to the park seven days a week from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. The second membership costs $22.75 and provides weekend and holiday only access. The third membership gives access to the park Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., and costs $17.50.
Zimmer offers discounts to spayed and neutered dogs. She also discounts first-year memberships for owners who adopted pets from a shelter or rescue organization. If owners have two dogs, the second dog’s membership is half off.
"Memberships are month to month without commitment for an entire year," Zimmer said.
"The business has been very successful," Zimmer said. "The 225 members translate into enough income to cover my monthly expenses, including the huge loan payments. Not many start-ups can make that statement."

