City unleashes dog park

SOUTH END. It was a day both residents and dogs could enjoy.

The city officially unveiled the renovated Peters Park in the South End yesterday and “unleashed” a gated area for dogs, marking the city’s first official recreation space for pooches.

In recent years, dogs have roamed inside a fenced-in area in the South End park, but the Friends of Peters Park community group has privately raised about $360,000 to shape it up.

The Joe Wex Dog Recreation Space is named after the late South End resident, whose wife, Deb, yesterday remembered him not only as a fixture in the community who coached, volunteered and tutored, but also a dog lover who worked hard to secure the space.

“I’m hoping you will come to this space, and you will remember him,” she said.

After the unveiling, dozens of dogs poured into their new play pen, which includes designated areas for large and small dogs, a water fountain and plenty of space to run around. Io Cyrus, who lives a block away from the park, showed up yesterday with her six-year-old Brittany named Scout. Cyrus recalled bringing her dog to the park the first day she got him, even before bringing him home.

“I come here every morning,” she said. “But, now it’s going to be a magnet. It’s drawing people from a much farther distance. The whole park is so much cleaner and safer. It’s really exciting.”

Dorchester residents have asked for similar space, and Mayor Thomas Menino said yesterday officials are evaluating the idea.

Meanwhile, the $1.3 million renovation of the rest of Peters Park includes several improvements, such as new lighting, soft rubber surfacing in the children’s play area and a new baseball diamond. Kenneth Crasco, the Boston Parks & Recreation Department’s chief landscape architect who managed the project, said both equipment and safety have been dramatically improved.

“Everything was in sad disrepair,” Crasco said. “Most of what we did here was to rehab and renovate what was already in place.”