The wait is over. Dog lovers now have a place to let their pets stretch their legs, wiggle through a concrete pipe and catch a tennis ball all while socializing with other dogs. The Flash Cairo Dog Park in Woods Cross opened on May 11. The park is a joint effort between North Salt Lake City and Woods Cross City.

“The park was named after the two canines,” said Woods Cross Public Works Director Sam Christiansen. “Cairo was a police canine for North Salt Lake City and Flash was a police canine for Woods Cross. Flash is currently working for the Utah State Attorney General’s Office.”

Flash was trained to find electronic storage devices to help, assist and protect the community, especially children from digital crimes, he said. “He works with the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) task force. That’s something Flash has really excelled at, especially in the six years he was with Woods Cross and currently at the State AG’s.”

Cairo was trained for patrol and narcotics detection, said Christiansen. “In 2013 he was awarded the Rookie Canine of the Year by the Utah Police Officers Association and several other honors throughout his years of work. He retired in 2017 and lived with his handler’s family until he passed away in 2019.”

 “Flash Cairo Dog Park stands as a tribute to two remarkable K9 officers, Flash from Woods Cross and Cairo from North Salt Lake who served with loyalty, courage, and an unbreakable bond to their handlers and our community,” said North Salt Lake City Mayor Brian Horrocks. “These dogs were more than partners in public safety, they were symbols of trust, protection, and commitment. Naming this park in their honor ensures their legacy continues in a place built for joy, connection, and community.”

“The park sits on UDOT property,” said Christiansen. “Both cities were about to negotiate a kind of long term minimal cost lease agreement for the cities to use it just for the dog park.”

Christiansen said both areas needed a dog park, especially the communities on the west side of Redwood Road. “Neither city had a dog area in any of their parks so it started as an idea amongst the city managers and it grew from there. We started making a plan and then proposed the idea to both city councils and they were both extremely supportive.”

There are human and dog drinking fountains at each park, said Christiansen. “There are three dog areas including the original dog run as we’re calling it because it’s very narrow and long. One area is for dogs 25 pounds or larger and there’s a small dog area for dogs 25 pounds or less.” 

Everything is fenced off, he said. “For the two new areas we have what we call kind of a corral gate so people can walk with their dogs on a leash and enter the first gate, close it and then open the second gate to get in and out. So there’s safe areas for people to leash and unleash their dogs.”

The park will be maintained by city staff as all parks, Christiansen said. “Woods Cross has an irrigation system in two of the areas that are there just for watering trees to help get them established. We want those trees to grow and give some more shade.”

So Woods Cross will be maintaining the trees and the irrigation system and mowing the grasses down twice a month, he said. “North Salt Lake will be doing park cleanup twice a month.”

The park will have poop bags, said Christiansen. “We want dog owners to be responsible and respectful of the parks and if people clean up after their dogs then the park will be there for a very long time and be kept in good condition.”

There will also be a porta potty, he said. “The large dog park area has a shade structure with a bench. There are quite a few logs and a large concrete storm drain pipe that dogs can run through and up and over. Just some things for them to exercise their brains as well as their bodies.” 

Owners are legally responsible for the behavior of their dogs, said Christiansen. “We ask that there should be adult owners with their dog and no minor children alone with a dog just so someone is old enough to control their dog.”

There is a limit of three dogs per user, he said. “They must have their up to date rabies vaccination and license tags. We do have some prohibited dogs such as sick or aggressive dogs, unlicensed dogs, dogs in heat and puppies under four months.”

The park is a great feature, Christiansen said. “I think once the trees grow and mature there’ll be quite a bit of shade down there. People are excited in general to have an area, especially on the west side of both cities, to take their dogs.”

The park is open from 5 a.m. – 11 p.m. but closed for maintenance on Thursday mornings. It is located at 2180 W. 2425 South in Woods Cross.