A new highly fought for Dog Park has officially opened in Bomaderry.
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The new park which will be known as the 'Bomo Dog Bowl' had its official opening on Saturday, with many community members coming to support the park despite torrential weather.
With a backdrop of flooding grounds, locals who supported the project battled their way through the rain and mud to see their hard work finally pay off.
President of Bomaderry Community Inc. and a historic strong advocate for the new park Kylie Knight, said the idea for this project was first discussed back in 2019.
"We sat down in Shoalhaven Councillor Patricia White and told her about this really big unused space in Bomaderry, why don't we put a dog park there?," Mrs Knight said.
"Patricia liked the idea so she took it to council and it was the first dog related matter to get unanimous support in Council."
Mrs Knight said there are other fenced dog parks around the Shoalhaven, however the difference between them and the new 'Bomo Dog Bowl', is the new park has been designed to be a 24/7 dog area.
"It's exclusively for dogs, its not a playground or other park, it is designed specifically for dogs," she said.
While the park right now is a fenced off dog area, it will soon become a fenced off dog playground with jumps and obstacles to be added in the future for furry friends to exhaust their large amounts of energy.
Saturday was supposed to be just that - dogs running around playing at the new park, exhausting their energy, however weather did not permit this.
A new date is yet to be confirmed, but community members will soon have their chance to come back for a field day to see the new park, with games for both the kids and dogs.
"We will be having a big day for the community to see the new park," Mrs Knight said.
"All money raised at the event will go straight to the Animal Welfare NSW Shoalhaven Branch."
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Local businesses who had supported the project joined the official opening on Saturday, giving praise to the team who made it all possible.
John Druce from 'Druce DP,' a local earth moving, road building company in Nowra was a vocal and financial supporter of the project.
"The company likes these community projects," Mr Druce said.
"When Kylie (Knight) came along with all her enthusiasm about the new park, we couldn't help but give her a hand."
Other local businesses such as the Bomaderry IGA and Paradise Pet Park also gave their support to the Park.
Joining the day came Shoalhaven City Council Mayor, Amanda Findley and NSW State Member for Kiama, Gareth Ward.
Mayor Findley applauded the community for coming out in such terrible weather, saying it showed a genuine enthusiasm for the park.
"Everyone who is here is so committed to the project, nothing is going to keep them at home," Mrs Findlay said.
Mrs Findlay said she believes Shoalhaven's growth has created a new found need for dog parks.
"As the Shoalhaven has grown, these parks become a higher need for the community," she said.
"It's really good this block of land is going to be used for something like this."
State Member for Kiama, Gareth Ward echoed Mrs Findley's remarks, stating there is a lack of high quality dog parks within the Shoalhaven.
"As a Bomaderry resident and dog owner myself, I know first hand the lack of high quality dog parks in the Shoalhaven," Mr Ward said.
"That's why I fought hard to acquire the grant which helped fund the project."
Mr Ward thanked and recognized Kylie Knight, stating the park would not have happened had it have not been for her fighting spirit.
"She's done a tremendous job in bringing everyone together, she's been tenacious and her enthusiasm has been contagious," he said.
"We had to push the council along and it probably took a little bit longer than we would have liked but we got here in the end."
Community members coming out despite weather was not ignored by My Ward, who was pleased to see the enthusiasm being alive despite the cold.
"This shows how happy the community is to have something like this," he said.
"I think we're all a bit barking mad to be out here today."