Viking Dog Park has proven to be a popular stop for canines and their owners since opening in September in Bonney Lake, but the first month hasn’t been without its bumps, according to both patrons and masterminds of the project.

The dog park has run out of bags to pick up dog waste at inopportune times, like before the weekend. In addition, both dispensers of bags were the target of vandalism.

But the problems aren’t necessarily surprising, according to Planning Commissioner and volunteer organizer Grant Sulham.

“The best way to say it is that this isn’t unexpected,” Sulham said. “Every park has growing pains when it first opens.”

The park has two bag dispensers, one built and donated by a Boy Scout, the other donated by councilman and pet supply store owner Randy McKibbon. Both were vandalized during the opening weeks, including having all bags removed.

Sulham noted that the now fenced-in property used to be a popular shortcut for local teens and postulated that vandalism may have been a response to losing use of the land.

Another issue is who refills the dog bags and when.

The dog park is a joint effort of volunteers and the city. Sulham and other volunteers clear pathways of debris and city parks staff fill the dispensers with bags bought from a Department of Ecology grant.

“But if the bags run out right before the weekend, there’s nobody to refill it,” Community Services Director Gary Leaf said.

Jessica Hall, a dog park visitor, pointed out two grocery bags filled with other grocery bags and tied to the park fence. The bags were a community solution to weekend bag shortages.

Hall is one dog owner who enjoys the park.

“My dogs know the roadways, so they get excited as soon as we turn on to the Sumner-Buckley Highway,” she said.