Material used in Woodbridge dog park concerns user

WOODBRIDGE -- Telli zips across the dog park here like an F-18 Hornet taking off an aircraft carrier. At 8 months old, the Vizla -- a muscular, golden-colored hunting breed with Hungarian roots -- has pep to her step and a natural instinct to play and exercise. She runs to catch a toy tossed by her owner, Craig Mattoon, of Perth Amboy, and slams the brakes on when she nears it -- skirting across the ground and kicking-up the stone dust used on the surface of the Sewaren park to ease its drainage problems. "She'll get some scrapes" on occasion, which will scab the next day, says Mattoon, a chiropractor who brings Telli to the park during his lunch break and again in the evening.

The potential for those scrapes, the drainage issues and the dust that kicks up have another park user concerned for his dogs and others. Tom Maras, a Fords resident, is asking local leaders to choose a more suitable surface material and do more to deal with drainage problems, which can lead to the growth of dangerous bacteria.

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