Spokane County approves dog park

After years of talk, Spokane County has its first dog park.

County commissioners on Tuesday unanimously approved an off-leash, 3-acre, fenced, canine play land at Gateway Park. The county opened Gateway last month on the grounds of a former state rest area off Interstate 90 near the Idaho border at exit 299.

A previous attempt by the county to create a dog park was halted after Spokane Valley incorporated. A city of Spokane proposal for a dog play area at High Bridge Park was scrapped in 2004 because it was below the nest of a peregrine falcon.

Officials said the dog park should be ready by early fall.