By NEAL WAGNER / Managing Editor

ALABASTER – The Beneful Dream Dog Park in Alabaster’s Veterans Park is one of the best canine-friendly, off-leash offerings in the state, according to the BringFido.com website.

The website details the top 32 off-leash dog parks in Alabama, and Alabaster’s six-year-old park made the cut.

The $500,000 Beneful Dream Dog Park opened in Alabaster’s Veterans Park in the summer of 2012, and includes carpeted synthetic turf, separate off-leash play areas for small and large dogs, splash pads, agility course elements, a miniature football field, a walking course and more.

Beneful chose Alabaster for the park after then-Shelby County Humane Society director Jenny Wilson, an Alabaster native, entered her dog, Honey Belle, into the 2011 Dream Dog Park contest.

The Beneful Dream Dog Park was the only venue in Shelby County to make the list of the top off-leash areas in the state, and has an overall reader review score of four bones out of five.

“Alabaster is the second city in the nation to host a Beneful Dream Dog Park. The $500,000 dog park opened on July 12, 2012. DIY Network star Jason Cameron helped design the park,” reads the website. “The dog park is carpeted with synthetic turf, features separate off-leash areas for small and large dogs, water splash pads, tunnels and hoops, a miniature fetch football field, a walking course and more. There are benches and shade for dog owners.”

To view the entire list, visit Bringfido.com/attraction/parks/state/alabama.

The BringFido recognition came a couple of years after the Bestdogparks.info website named Alabaster’s dog park one of the top 10 in the United States.