Chess, a border collie mix from a shelter in New Mexico, strolled inside a new dog park near the Ala Wai Canal on Sunday, unfazed by a smaller Chihuahua sprinting through the crowd and cutting wide arcs in the grass.

"He’s very friendly," said Chess’ owner, Edgardo Diaz, while pointing out other dogs that he recognizes. "Some of the dogs, they know each other. They have friends."

It took a community group 10 years to build the off-leash dog park, and community leaders and dog owners were finally able to celebrate its opening Sunday.

"Dogs bring communities together," said Mayor Kirk Caldwell at the site just Diamond Head of Ala Wai Elementary School. "It’s just about connecting with each other, and pets do that and dogs do that."

He said people will come out of their condos and talk about their dogs and themselves at the park, strengthening the community.

"It’s going to grow into a better community because of this park," he said.

After the opening celebration, dogs went inside the chain link fence and padded about, sniffed one another and drank water from each others’ bowls. Their owners stood in groups chatting.

The Ala Wai K-9 Playground Association built the park with about $40,000 in donations, said Judy Wright, the group’s treasurer.

She said the park is just over a quarter of an acre. It has a fence separating big dogs from little ones and benches for owners. There are plans for water fountains.

It’s one of six off-leash dog parks in the city, according to the Hawaiian Humane Society’s website.

A March 2006 flood stalled plans for the park. The flood forced the city to dump sewage into the Ala Wai Canal, and a contractor fixing the main had to use the park’s land as a storage area for heavy equipment.

After the project finished last year, the contractor, Frank Coluccio Construction, restored the area and erected the park’s fence, which cost about $25,000. The work was donated, but the cost was included in Wright’s estimate for building the park.

Cammy Samora of Ala Wai K-9 Playground recalled her bichon frise, Pebbles, was only 2 when she was talking with friends about police ticketing people for unleashed dogs behind Marco Polo condominium in 2004.

That conversation, which led to the idea for the park, took place on a dirt mound that is now the green dog park, she said.

Samora, a business owner, said the effort has been more about building a community than a dog park.

Volunteer rangers will be on site from 4:30 to 7 p.m. daily. Twenty-two volunteers have already been trained and will help enforce rules, such as a restriction on dogs in heat.

Diaz, who lives three blocks away, said there are many dogs in the neighborhood. He said he takes Chess to the softball field behind Marco Polo three days a week but has to watch out for other people playing sports in the park.

"When you have a place to go without worry, it’s a pretty good deal," he said.