Dogs Soon To Be Banned From All Colorado Park Trails?

Dogs have been banned from trails in Mueller State Park. Will others be next?

I'm a dog lover. I was the owner of the sweetest yellow lab you're ever seen for nearly 14 years. She and I shared countless adventures so even though I'm not currently a dog owner, this hits close to home.

Over the summer park officials allowed dogs on certain Mueller State Park trails to see if owners would follow the rules of keeping their dogs on a leash, avoid other visitors, pick up waste, and stay away from wildlife.

Apparently, the experiment was a failure as Colorado Parks & Wildlife received numerous complaints of dogs running loose, waste left on the trails, confrontations with visitors, and fewer large game sightings in the park. The trial ended on August 31st and having analyzed the results the decision was made to keep dogs off the trails. Dogs are now banned from the trails but will be allowed in the campground and along paved roads.

Will this be the new "normal"? Will dogs soon be banned from all hiking trails in state and national parks? If this becomes reality, it's not the dogs to blame, it's their owners.

Credit: The Gazette