LOVELAND — It doesn’t take too many piles of dog poop to wreck an outdoor recreation experience, say Loveland parks managers.
There have been enough complaints that Loveland police are stepping up leash and littering laws along the 17.5 mile Loveland Recreation Trail.
In the past, people caught with off-leash dogs or leaving pet poop on the trail have received verbal warnings. Now, they’ll be issued tickets that carry a $100 fine for a first-time offense and increase by $100 for each subsequent violation.
“Relatively speaking, we don’t have many complaints for as many people that use” the trail, said Loveland police Sgt. Bob Shaffer, who heads the motorcycle cops who monitor the trail 15 to 20 hours per week. “But it doesn’t take many violations to destroy the experience on the bike trail.”
Dog-related complaints have been the most frequent gripe on the trail this year.
