Cindy Hirschfeld, 43, recently updated “Canine Colorado,” her dog-friendly guide first published in 1998. Her research team included golden retriever, Clover, 17, and Tansy, a mutt, 4. Between them, they nosed out new dog parks, dog-friendly trails and lodging that accommodates dogs.
— Marissa Hermanson, special to The Denver Post
Q: What is Colorado’s most dog-friendly town?
A: I would say that definitely small mountain towns are particularly dog-friendly. Not necessarily because regulations are more relaxed, but because more people tend to have dogs in mountain towns. There’s a lot of outdoor recreation, obviously, really close at hand.
Q: What about the opposite? Areas that aren’t dog-friendly?
A: The only national parks (in Colorado) that accommodates dogs on a few of their trails are the Great Sand Dunes and Black Canyon of the Gunnison, with a couple of just really short trails that you can take your dog up.
Q: What’s your best advice to people traveling with their dogs?
A: When you are taking your dog to a hotel, it is a privilege that is being extended by the hotel owner. Updating the book, I talked to a lot of lodging and property owners, and it’s frustrating to hear the stories about things that people let their dogs do or things people didn’t respect. It’s especially frustrating to hear that some places don’t take dogs because of bad experiences. Respect the rules!
Q: Do you have any memorable experiences from traveling with your dogs?
A: One time, I was staying at the Hotel Monaco in Denver, which is very dog-friendly. I had Clover in the room when I went out to dinner, and she had diarrhea all over the place. And I was really embarrassed because here I am, the dog author — this is after the first book came out, right before the second — and they were hosting me.
Q: Oh, no! Oh, yikes! That’s a nightmare!
A: There was nothing, really, I could do about it. I called housekeeping and tipped them really well. Those are things you have to be prepared for.
