Tails wag for first sanctioned dog park

It is noontime at Peters Park, a ragged piece of ground tucked between Victorian row houses in the South End where people are arriving with droves of dogs.

There is excitement in the air, mostly from the dogs who come straining at the ends of leashes and whimpering to get into the scrum of pets romping in the dirt inside a ratty chain-link fence.

After years of the park being used as an unofficial dog playground, Peters Park advocates are planning a $250,000 renovation to convert the land into the city's first sanctioned dog park and a canine paradise.

It's to have dog water fountains (built low so they can lap at ground level), designated big-dog and small-dog areas, and a special "dog walk of fame" that will contain memorials for past pets in the shapes of paws. Double gates will help prevent dogs from escaping a big fenced play area when others enter.

For the dog owners, there are to be acorn street lights, custom benches, new trees, and flowering shrubs.

The chain-link fence is to be replaced with wrought iron. A bench will be dedicated to the late Gerry Studds, the former congressman who was a frequent park visitor.

"It will be really nice," said Dan Sullivan, a real estate agent who several times a day walks his Boston terrier, Yoda, who was clad yesterday in a blue sweater. "This is like a community backyard."

It is perhaps an inevitable development in a neighborhood now supporting dog catering services and a dog bakery, along with more standard services such as grooming.

But the South End is also home to a growing resentment toward dogs and their owners, and nearby residents have mounted opposition, saying the dogs bring unwanted sounds, sights, and smells to the neighborhood.

"They pee on my doorway," said Kwong Lim, who lives in a nearby row house. "They make a mess. There are so many flies around here. In the summertime, you can't open the door."

Lim has spearheaded a letter-writing campaign to voice opposition to the project. Some 160 residents opposed to the park sent letters to the city, he said.

The city's Parks and Recreation Commission held a meeting yesterday, as part of a review process that is expected to come to a vote next month. If the commission approves the project, construction could be finished by fall.

Commission members said they will take opponents' concerns into consideration.

"We want to ensure that the abutters will not be negatively impacted, and that's a big consideration for us," said Antonia Pollak, commissioner of the Parks and Recre ation Department.

The recent plans for the park sprang from a law approved two years ago by the City Council and Mayor Thomas M. Menino providing for special "dog recreation spaces" around the city where animals can run free.

The city is planning $980,000 in renovations to other areas of Peters Park over the next several months.

The dog park portion, near the corner of Washington and East Berkeley streets, would be funded by the Friends of Peters Park, which has raised $131,000 in private funds.

Additional funding is to come through sponsorships, including of the three bag dispensers for cleanups. Plans for the dog park have fueled intense enthusiasm among dog owners, who for years had few public places in the city to legally let dogs run.

"We've very proud to be doing it, to make sure Boston's first one is well designed, well maintained, and an asset to the community," said Randi Cohen, chairwoman of the Friends of Peters Park dog committee.

"It's such a wonderful place to have as part of your day," she said. "It draws people into the neighborhood. It makes the space safer. It's a great urban space. We're in that park day and night every day of the year."

Dog advocates hope to spread the idea to other neighborhoods, such as Ronan Park in Dorchester or near the Fenway.

"In Chicago, there's a Wiggley Field," Cohen said. "We should have Fenwag Park, with a green monster, and Yankee symbols to pee on."

Matt Viser can be reached at maviser@globe.com.