Hello Action Line,
My understanding of the law round these parts is that in the city of Durango, a dog must be on a leash, while in the county, a dog must only be under voice command. I live in Three Springs where we’re on the border, and I know this is an issue in multiple places where city, county and public lands are contiguous.
I’ve heard that Animal Control officers are giving warnings and possibly tickets to people whose dogs are off leash in places that are not in the annexed (city) part of Three Springs, but are on adjacent, unincorporated county land.
I’m wondering if I don’t know the law as I thought I did, or if the officers don’t. Or maybe the officers don’t realize where the border is. Before I have an embarrassing argument, can you assure me that I’m correct? – Albee Wright
Dear Albee Wright,
I’m afraid you’ll be wrong. I reached out to the county, which told me that in 2021, it updated the county regulations to require that all dogs must be leashed when they are on any county-owned property, including all trails and enclaves. Dogs on land not owned by the county only need to be under voice command, but if that’s like my dog that means they’ll come when called unless there’s food, another dog, or a juicy-looking stick calling their name in another direction – not sure if that counts.
That leaves private and BLM land (which is mixed up into the Three Springs area). On your own land voice command is of course fine, but on other people’s land, assuming you are not trespass its website says “you must leash your dog when passing children, horses, or other dogs.” So I guess you’re OK if passing a kangaroo, llama or an emu, but between all these patchwork lands and rules, you pretty much need to keep your dog on-leash – well, if you had a million dollars, I guess you could continually pay the fines.
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Hey ya Action Line,
So you’re on a hike, could be the desert, could be the forest. You have to pee. It’s really dry out there. Make that really, really dry. You see a plant or bush that obviously needs water. Some of its leaves are wilting, turning brown. So, you want to do the right thing here. Will it help the plant to pee on it? Directly or more to the side? Does it matter, say, how hydrated you are? – Jura Nayton
Dear Jura Nayton,
I’m not reaching out to anyone about this one, Google will have to do. Sure go for it if you are well-hydrated, but I guess aim for the side. As anyone with a dog and a backyard lawn knows, when a plant is peed on over and over it’s bad for it, because it gets “burned” from too much nitrogen. But don’t worry, lawn owners, one pee or two from a passing dog won’t hurt your curbside lawn. It appears urine composting is a thing though – pee in a bottle and save it for your compost pile!
Email questions and suggestions to actionline@durangoherald.com or mail them to Action Line, The Durango Herald, 1275 Main Ave., Durango, CO 81301. Today’s Fun Fact: Exotic pets are allowed in Colorado if they are tropical or subtropical natives, like kangaroos, hedgehogs, sugar gliders, wallabies and certain snakes. Colorado native or dangerous animals, like skunks and tigers, are not allowed.
