City of Boulder
Dogs under voice control can qualify for tags to roam in open stretches of Boulder, Colorado's great outdoors.
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So I'm just back from a book signing in Boulder, Colorado, and I'm happy to report that the Berkeley of the Rockies is one dog-infatuated town. Lean, shiny, smiling mutts peer out from nearly every funky truck bed, snooze under every sidewalk café table, and pad alongside nearly every lean, shiny, smiling human. For outdoor-adventure-loving quadrupeds, it's hard to imagine a better hometown or destination than Boulder.
Perhaps the coolest dog-friendly innovation in those parts is the city's Voice and Site Control Dog Tag Program. In certain designated Open Space areas (gorgeous sage, pine and grassland territory), Boulder residents can let registered dogs under voice and site control roam untethered. As far as I know, it's the only city in the country to offer this sort of opportunity.
Of course, not everyone loves the program, but during my three outings along Open Space trails, all the dogs I saw hung pretty close to their ultra-fit guardians. And, I glimpsed only one uncollected poop parcel. Pretty cool stuff.
I should add, that while I was out of town my dog Renzo ended up in the care of the good folks at Animal Critical Care and Emergency Services on Lake City Way. On Sunday morning, the 65-pound Husky-mix wouldn't eat breakfast (cause for a three-bell alarm) and looked like he had swallowed a basketball. When a radiograph revealed a belly nearly busting with kibble, a light bulb went off in my husband's brain. He pictured the nearly full dog-food storage bin left open while he made a quick trip to the grocery store the night before. Enough said. Renzo is recovering from his binge, but I'm in the market for a human-proof alternative. Since most "pet-food storage" bins require a manual finish, I'm thinking maybe I'll repurpose another houseware and get something like my current kitchen garbage bin with a "whisper-close" lid.
Perhaps the coolest dog-friendly innovation in those parts is the city's Voice and Site Control Dog Tag Program. In certain designated Open Space areas (gorgeous sage, pine and grassland territory), Boulder residents can let registered dogs under voice and site control roam untethered. As far as I know, it's the only city in the country to offer this sort of opportunity.
Of course, not everyone loves the program, but during my three outings along Open Space trails, all the dogs I saw hung pretty close to their ultra-fit guardians. And, I glimpsed only one uncollected poop parcel. Pretty cool stuff.
I should add, that while I was out of town my dog Renzo ended up in the care of the good folks at Animal Critical Care and Emergency Services on Lake City Way. On Sunday morning, the 65-pound Husky-mix wouldn't eat breakfast (cause for a three-bell alarm) and looked like he had swallowed a basketball. When a radiograph revealed a belly nearly busting with kibble, a light bulb went off in my husband's brain. He pictured the nearly full dog-food storage bin left open while he made a quick trip to the grocery store the night before. Enough said. Renzo is recovering from his binge, but I'm in the market for a human-proof alternative. Since most "pet-food storage" bins require a manual finish, I'm thinking maybe I'll repurpose another houseware and get something like my current kitchen garbage bin with a "whisper-close" lid.
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