About Us
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The Wallingford Dog Lovers AssociationIn 2012, Mark Semaru, the Chairperson of the WDLA, took it upon himself to look for volunteers within the town of Wallingford that shared his passion of dogs to build a dog park. There were twelve founding board members who have joined forces with Mark to design the park, establish the park rules, fund-raise and advocate with town officials to bring this park to fruition.
The town agreed to provide us the piece of land located on Quinnipiac Street right at exit 64 off of Route 15 if we could raise the necessary funds to build the park. The twelve founding board members along with numerous additional volunteers have spent the last three years putting the pieces together to build the park. |
In 2014, the WDLA secured its non-profit status as a 501(c)(3) with the Internal Revenue Service. Therefore, all donations to WDLA could be tax deductible!
For current updates on what the WDLA is doing, please connect 'Wallingford Dog Park' with us on Facebook .
The Subkowsky Family
 Installed on August 29, 2015
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The Wallingford Dog Lovers Association has proudly named our dog park The Bert & Harry Subkowsky Bark Park in honor of Alberta and Harry Subkowsky. Their children, Robert and Donna, have graciously donated a large sum of money in memory of their parents. This contribution went directly to the purchase and installation of the fence around the dog park which was the most important item needed in the development of the dog park. The WDLA has created a thank you video in honor of the donation. Each of the board members of the Wallingford Dog Lovers Association wanted to personally thank Bob and Carol for their donation as this donation spurred our group into action!
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We wanted to share a little history of the Subkowsky Family who embody the true meaning of being proud Wallingford residents:
Bert and Harry moved to Wallingford in 1962 and purchased a home on Surrey Drive which they lived in for over fifty years before relocating to Ashlar Village. Being community minded, Bert and Harry gave willingly of their time and energy serving a variety of Wallingford organizations. Bert was involved in the Beth Israel Synagogue, Beth Israel Sisterhood, Wallingford Garden Club and the Wallingford Public Library. Harry was involved in the Beth Israel Synagogue, Wallingford Library Board of Managers and part of the Ashlar Village Association. In addition to giving their time to others, they spent a lot of time with their dogs. Their first dog, Higgins, was an almost pure white Cocker Spaniel with a few rust colored freckles and an ear and tail of the same muted color. Their second dog, Brucie, was a West Highland Terrier that was loveable ball of fluffy white fur. Both dogs were trained, pampered and catered to by their “parents” for their entire lives!
Bob and Donna can think of no more fitting memorial for their parents than to contribute to the Wallingford dog park and name it in memory of their parents, who not only loved and cared for dogs, but truly loved the town of Wallingford! We truly want to thank them for their support of this dog park!
Bert and Harry moved to Wallingford in 1962 and purchased a home on Surrey Drive which they lived in for over fifty years before relocating to Ashlar Village. Being community minded, Bert and Harry gave willingly of their time and energy serving a variety of Wallingford organizations. Bert was involved in the Beth Israel Synagogue, Beth Israel Sisterhood, Wallingford Garden Club and the Wallingford Public Library. Harry was involved in the Beth Israel Synagogue, Wallingford Library Board of Managers and part of the Ashlar Village Association. In addition to giving their time to others, they spent a lot of time with their dogs. Their first dog, Higgins, was an almost pure white Cocker Spaniel with a few rust colored freckles and an ear and tail of the same muted color. Their second dog, Brucie, was a West Highland Terrier that was loveable ball of fluffy white fur. Both dogs were trained, pampered and catered to by their “parents” for their entire lives!
Bob and Donna can think of no more fitting memorial for their parents than to contribute to the Wallingford dog park and name it in memory of their parents, who not only loved and cared for dogs, but truly loved the town of Wallingford! We truly want to thank them for their support of this dog park!
The Wallingford Dog Lovers Association
On September 26, 2015 just over three years after the Wallingford Dog Lovers Association formed to bring a leash free dog park to our town, the Bert & Harry Subkowsky Bark Park opened. Since then the park has welcomed many furry family members and their humans. Still a work in progress WDLA has maintained the park along with the Parks & Recreation Dept., Wallingford Dept. of Public Works and some very helpful park attendees. We will continue to promote responsible dog ownership and we look forward to the continued support from the town departments and the park visitors. We are always looking for people willing to help with park maintenance and events. Please contact us if you are interested.