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With a 5-month-old daughter to look after, Nora Adkins said her Malamute-German Shepherd mix Boomer is happy to be a big brother, but may not get as much attention or exercise as he was once accustomed to.

"It's a challenge, especially with the new baby," Adkins said. "We have a fenced-in backyard which helps, and my husband takes him for runs at night, but it would be so much better to have a dog park because he could actually play with other dogs."

Adkins has joined forces with other dog owners in Randolph Hills and surrounding communities to show the county that putting a new dog park in the Randolph Hills Local Park is something that has tails wagging.

"We've had a lot of interest," said Steve Feehan, who has taken up the leadership role in the fledgling Randolph Dog Club, which is open to members of the surrounding communities as well. "Just in the week or so we've had the club going we've gotten 25 or 26 members I think."

The club, Feehan said, will act as an interface with the county to lobby for a new dog park to be installed in the Randolph Hills Local Park, located at 11805 Ashley Drive. The club would also look after the duties—and doody—that go with self-policing and maintaining the park.

Feehan's dog Bailey loves to go to other dog parks in the county, but Feehan said he is not a fan of the drive to Wheaton or Gaithersburg.

"We've been going to dog parks since he was a puppy and the idea of having this close to my house and not have to get in my car several times a week is really exciting," Feehan said.

"I understand that we're a front runner" in the county for a new dog park, said Matthew Tifford, president of the Randolph Civic Association. "We're getting pretty much the higher ups at Park and Planning supportive of the idea."

John Hench, chief of the county Park Planning and Stewardship Division, said Randolph Hills is in a good location in the county for a dog park, it will just be a matter of finding out if the park itself is suitable. The Planning Board makes the final decision about whether to allow the park, which would require the displacement of a softball field that is there now.

"We haven't yet heard from the users of that field about how they would feel about losing that field to a dog park," Hench said, but noted a dog park would get more use during the day whereas fields tend to be used only in the evenings and on weekends. "We don't have very many of these facilities (dog parks) and increasingly dog owners are asking for them."

Kendra Fletcher, who got involved with the club to meet other dog lovers, said with playgrounds for children and county facilities for adults, "…to me it makes sense that we move to the next step which is to have the dog park and have a place for people to go outside and meet each other and enjoy the great outdoors."

Damon Manetta, a club member and Humane Society volunteer, said the park would serve to promote responsible dog ownership and socialization among the animals.

"It's really important that dogs of any age or size be socialized and able to interact with other dogs, just as humans need to interact and socialize, and dog parks help to do that."

To learn more:

The Randolph Dog Club is planning to have a booth at the Montgomery Humane Society "Paws in the Park" dog walk from noon to 4 p.m. on June 7 at Wheaton Regional Park, 11751 Orebaugh Ave. The club also has formed a Yahoo group at groups.yahoo.com/group/

randolphdogclub.