A group of dog owners is seeking a location for a dog park in Peterborough.

After trying to work with the town of Peterborough, the ad hoc dog park subcommittee of the Peterborough Recreation Committee has decided to explore private options for their dream park. Once the team has a location in mind, they will start fundraising.

“We’re looking forward to being able to fundraise, but we need a location first,” Helen Fairman, a member of the dog park subcommittee and Recreation Committee, said.

Since 2019, a group of dog-owning Peterborough residents – including Fairman – has advocated for a dog park in town.

According to Fairman, the group has looked at over 30 locations for the park, but none were up to snuff.

Ideally, the committee wants a location that is far from abutting neighbors, accessible and environmentally mindful.

“We’re all environmentalists as well as dog owners,” Fairman said.

Paola Santillan, a member of the subcommittee since 2024, joined the group to create a community park for her large dog. Now, Santillan fosters and rehabilitates dogs and, while traveling, has seen how beneficial dog parks can be in other towns.

“There’s definitely a need in the community,” Santillan said.

For Santillan, the park is not necessarily all about the dogs, and she said she feels Peterborough’s growing community needs a space for their pets.

“It’s about the people … As we grow, it just seems like having that space is really important,” Santillan said.

While living in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Fairman said she was part of the town’s dog park organization, where she worked closely with the city to create an area for dogs to play unleashed.

The subcommittee plans to fund the dog park with donations, business sponsorships and grants. No tax money will go toward the park.

In 2025, the subcommittee surveyed 312 people about their opinions on a dog park in Peterborough. The results showed 89% of the participants would use a local dog park, and 20% of respondents said they drive out of town to Keene or Nashua to access a dog park.

Santillan said the subcommittee’s main goal for now is to promote conversation about the park and get the ball rolling.

“It’s just finding the right place to do it,” she said.

In the meantime, the subcommittee has organized occasional off-leash dog walks in surrounding towns.

“I’ve met a lot of people that I wouldn’t have otherwise met in town,” Santillan said.