It has been several years in the making, but the second phase of the only dog park in the Tri-Cities opened Friday and it was quickly overrun with furry friends.

"This is a place for dogs, and owners who like to socialize with their dogs. We're glad it is in Richland, and it caters to that special interest group, but we have a lot of other parks that cater to special interest groups too, so we like to think of this as a very diverse portfolio that we can offer to the community," says Joe Schiessl with the City of Richland.

You may know that the new Paws-Abilities Place large and small dog park is right next to the old dog parks. But Schiessl adds only one side will be open at a time to allow maintenance to work on the turf. Officials say they plan to rotate which side is open about every six weeks or so.

The parks popularity changes with the weather but on most Saturdays Schiessl says the park can attract over 40 dogs with their owners.

He says the total 5 1/2 acre project costed $120,000 with $30,000 coming from donations which the The Tri-City Dog Park Society helped out with.

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