Soon local pups will have a place to roam free. Aiken's first dog park is scheduled to open on Dec. 12.

The dog park is a joint project of the City of Aiken and Aiken Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

Barbara Nelson, president of the SPCA, said work for the park is on schedule. A driveway made of gravel was recently completed at the site, located on Willow Run Road behind the Willow Run Industrial Park. Nelson said the next step for the project will be to install a 5-foot chain-link fence around the park. The 2.3-acre dog park will include separate areas for small and large dogs.

A 30-foot by 30-foot square-shaped splash pool also will soon be installed at the site. The pool will be about 10 inches deep and will resemble a ground-level swimming pool, according to Nelson.

"Dogs are going to love to splash around in it," she said. Pet owners will be required to register their dogs with the SPCA or the City of Aiken Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism before they are able to bring them to the facility.

Nelson said the registration will ensure what pets are being taken to the park and that they have been vaccinated. The registration will cost a small fee.

The City has put about $30,000 into the park, which will pay for the cost of the fencing, said Nelson. Aiken SPCA has also invested about $30,000 into the project.

The splash pool will cost about $16,000. The money is being donated by a local family in celebration on their parents' 50th wedding anniversary.

Aiken SPCA is holding a capital campaign to raise money for a new animal shelter, which will be located next to the dog park.

The 20,000-square-foot facility will have the capacity to house 140 dogs and cats and will average 700 adoptions per year. It will include space for the City's Animal Control, a regional spay and neuter clinic that would serve the City, County and other neighboring communities and an education and training facility for residents and their pets.

Nelson said they are close to having reached 70 percent of their goal for the shelter.

"We still have a lot more to do," she said.

Aiken SPCA will begin its general campaign at the beginning of next year. Nelson said the group is planning to begin construction for the animal shelter at the end of next year. The Aiken SPCA will mark its 75th anniversary in 2010.

Contact April Bailey at abailey@aikenstandard.com.