COEUR d'ALENE - The dogs couldn't wait to nose their way inside.

By the time their owners opened the double gates and unleashed them, they couldn't contain their enthusiasm any longer as they put Coeur d'Alene's newest off-leash dog park to the test.

They chased other dogs, got chased themselves, jumped on each others' backs, barked, sniffed, wagged, ran, and then ran some more. It was pure dog heaven.

"They can't wait to get in and play with their buddies," said Jon Busath, of the Kootenai County Dog Park Association. "We've got 50 or 60 dogs all wagging their tails at once."

The association celebrated a leash cutting and dedication for its second dog park in Coeur d'Alene on Sunday.

It's called Cherry Hill Dog Park, and it's located just northeast of the intersection of 15th Street and Hazel Avenue behind the Coeur d'Alene fire department station.

The off-leash park is just less than an acre in size, with a decomposed granite surface.

"I'm tickled to see the park open," said Sam Crawford of Fernan who brought his Great Pyrenees, Capone, 2. "This is just so much closer to home."

Alexis Roisen brought her Old English Sheepdog, Ollie, 3, who couldn't stop running from one end of the park to the other.

"We need spaces to throw the ball" to a dog and let them run free and socialize off-leash, said Roisen, of Coeur d'Alene.

She said she liked the decomposed granite surface, compared with grass, which leaves him wet.

"It's easy to shake off the dirt," Roisen said.

A citywide 2008 parks master plan study identified the need for off-leash dog parks as one of the three top requests by members of the community.

Nearly half of the households in Coeur d'Alene own a dog and some have more than one dog, the study found.

The Cherry Hill dog park cost $10,500 to open, paid for from the association's funds, which are generated through grants and donations.

The city owns the property, said Busath.

Dog Fancy magazine gave the association $5,000 in August for being what it called the dog-friendliest town in the U.S.

The association said this week it has a couple other places in mind where it would like to develop off-leash dog parks in Coeur d'Alene. It also would like to develop parks in Hayden and Rathdrum.

Coeur d'Alene's other dog park, Central Bark, is located at Atlas Road and Nez Perce Drive, adjacent to Northshire Park.