COEUR d'ALENE - The more things change ... well, you know the rest.

Before the national recognition, Cherry Hill Park was the goal for Coeur d'Alene's permanent off leash dog park. Now that Dog Fancy magazine has bestowed the Lake City with DogTown USA top honors, the goal hasn't changed a bit.

The off leash dog park at Cherry Hill Park, thanks to continued success with fundraising by the Kootenai County Dog Park Association, should be built out this fall.

"Being that we're DogTown USA, this is the next best step to take," said Doug Eastwood, parks director.

The $10,500 park won't cost the city a dime, except for some donated materials. It will be paid by the association's funds, which come from grants and donations. Dog Fancy magazine gifted the group $5,000 last week - boosting the association's total to $12,000 - for its grassroots effort role building out the city's first dog park, Central Bark, at Northshire Park.

That spot is a temporary location, however, on land owned by School District 271.

The roughly one acre spot will be near the fire helmet structure in the playground at Cherry Hill Park, which also houses a Coeur d'Alene Fire Department station.

A citywide 2008 Parks Master Plan study identified the need for off-leash dog parks as one of the top three requests within the community. Nearly half of the households in Coeur d'Alene own a dog and some have more than one dog, the study found.