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Ms. Cubby has two dogs, yellow and black Labs, who are both used for pet therapy at New Milford Hospital.
"I puppy raised them for Guiding Eyes for the Blind and later took them, so they are very well socialized," she said. "But not all dogs are-that's why it would be good for them to have a 'neutral' space to get together."
The grassroots group, known simply as New Milford Dog Park, was formed last September and now has a mailing list of more than 75 people, said Ms. Cubby, who was "unanimously" chosen as the president of the all-volunteer group.
It has an increasingly active Internet presence as well. As of March 31, it had 181 responses on its Facebook page, Ms. Cubby said, noting that people can add their comments to the blog (New Milford CT Dog Park).
"Right now we're finalizing our mission statement and working on fund-raising ideas," she said.
As she and other supporters see it, a dog park would be just the place for exercising and socializing-for both pets and their owners.
"We're hoping it'll be a good place for people who share an interest in dogs to get together," Ms. Cubby said. "A lot of us are single older people, and for us our dog is our life."
A dog park, she added, would be a protected area in more ways than one. The group is looking to raise money for an electric fence around a possible dog park off of Route 7 so the animals could run around and not stray into private property or a roadway. It also recognizes that animals who gather in such an area are likely to get along.
"The average dog is protective of its property, which can lead to fights if another dog comes along," said Ms. Cubby. "It's better to have a dog park, a neutral space where there wouldn't be the threat of territorial confrontation."
The group is hoping that New Milford will have not one but two parks. One would be a fenced-in area off of Pickett District Road on property that is owned by Kimberly-Clark.
"That's if the town and Kimberly-Clark come to terms," said Ms. Cubby.
The other would be at Hidden Treasures Park, which is town-owned property located off of West Street.
"It is naturally bounded and would be an ideal location, but not for everyone's dog," said Ms. Cubby. "It would depend on how well the dog relates to its owner," such as whether it responds when called.
The dog-park proposal would have to be approved by the Town Council.
In the meantime, Ms. Cubby said she was set to meet with "the layout people" last Friday regarding the fenced-in park. "We asked for a Plan A, all that we could ever want, and a Plan B, the bare minimum we could start with," she said. "But we don't want to jump the gun yet-we'll wait to see what the Town Council says."
A dog park, or two, would certainly benefit the town, according to the group.
"It would be the only one in this area," said Ms. Cubby. "There's one in Southbury-that's the nearest. Ridgefield has one that is all fenced in, and I think Westport has one as well."
There's an hour or more traveling time to get to these sites, she noted.
"People usually want to go out with their dogs for about an hour so traveling to someplace adds on a lot of time," Ms. Cubby said. "That's why we want something local.
New Milford Mayor Patricia Murphy, who owns a long-haired daschund named Boomer, said she can understand the group's commitment.
"Wouldn't it be nice?" Ms. Murphy said in a recent interview. "Some of us are elderly-we can't run around with our dogs anymore but we need to get out with them."
She noted that when an informational meeting was held last fall in town, "88 people showed up at the train station. There is an interest. And the dog park people are still excited about it."
The mayor noted that she has asked Kimberly-Clark about using a piece of land it owns in the Pickett District Road area.
"It's bigger than an acre and level, and there would be a place for parking," said Ms. Murphy. "The dog park people want to create a fence around it-that's all they need if K-C gives the town permission. It would be the easiest-to-get-to dog park."
She added that the dog park group "still wants to pursue the other property" as well.
Regarding Hidden Treasures Park, the mayor said, "On West Street we have six or seven acres on a peninsula left over from a project with DEP approval. We had to apply to DEP to re-grade the area."
She said that any dog park that would be established in town would be maintained by volunteers and that there would be rules there about expected behavior, such as "scoop the poop" and "no dog without a person."
