Walkway event promotes pet safety

My colleague John Barry covered Hounds Over the Hudson — hosted by the Dutchess County SPCA — Saturday on the Walkway Over the Hudson.

Here is his story in today's Poughkeepsie Journal.

I stopped by to check things out and took a few pictures. It was a gorgeous day to be on the Walkway. The views were spectacular.

Dogs to strut across the Walkway Saturday

The Walkway Over the Hudson will be the scene Saturday of the Hounds Over the Hudson bridge festival, sponsored by the Dutchess County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and its counterpart across the river, the Ulster County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

It will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The event is free and open to the public with no registration required.

DCSPCA staff and volunteers will be providing information on the care of dogs and giving demonstrations with therapy dogs.

Members of the Humane Law Department will be giving demonstrations on how to prevent stress to dogs in hot weather.

A canine parade of adoptable shelter dogs will begin at 11 a.m. with each shelter meeting in the center of the bridge.

Note: The parade will be canceled if the temperature or weather conditions are unsafe for dogs on the Walkway.

Here are directions to both entrances — Highland to the west and City of Poughkeepsie to the east — to the linear park.

Drink up

On a recent visit to the Walkway Over the Hudson, it was nice to see watering stations set up for pets. For dogs, I'm assuming. Unless people take their iguanas for walk these days.

No excuses

When I had a chance to go on the Walkway Over the Hudson from the Highland side, I was surprised there were dog refuse bags available.

I had heard from more than one person that people weren't following the "pack it in-pack it out" rule.

It just makes sense to me that, if you leave the house with your dog, there are things you take with you, i.e., a couple of treats and, more essentially, bags to pick up after your dog.

Well, you really have no excuse, now do you?

Walk your dog over the Hudson

Kate is taking advantage of a nice, warm autumn day to snooze on the patio. If this weren't the only day of my weekend, I would probably join her.

Yesterday, I had to work, covering the grand opening of the Walkway Over the Hudson, the former Poughkeepsie Railroad Bridge, now converted to the world's longest pedestrian span.


Above is a picture of the Poughkeepsie side entrance to the linear park. About 1.25 miles to the west is the entrance in the Town of Lloyd — over the majestic Hudson River (212 feet above the water), spanning two counties.

I wrote a story for today's paper about the Walking on Air parade.

I also got the opportunity to speak with a lot of people about what they thought of the new walkway. That story is here.

I was pleased to see a number of people bringing their dogs to the bridge on the first day.

In my second story, I spoke to Sean Ring, who along Dutchess, his 2-year-old Rottweiler, was making his first journey on the span.

Ring, a City of Poughkeepsie resident, said he would definitely be bringing both of his dogs to the new state park.

The FAQ on the walkway's Web site has lots of information for people who want to come to the bridge. There is a Web cam, provided by the Dutchess County Tourism, where you can watch people walk along the bridge.

In particular, dog owners should pay attention to the following:

• Only leashed dogs and other pets will be allowed on the bridge. Pet owners will be responsible for the removal and proper disposal of pet waste.

• The practice of carry-in, carry-out will be strongly encouraged. However, some garbage cans will be strategically located on the bridge.

I don't know whether some enterprising souls will be selling water or other drinks so it might be a good idea to bring some water for your dog as well as yourself.

Have fun, and drop me an e-mail telling me what you think of the newest tourist attraction in the mid-Hudson Valley.