By Thomas Mitchell | Westword
About 50 percent of this city's residents have a dog. Only 20 percent have children under eighteen.
Denver is no longer a cowtown. It’s a dog city.
Long known as a hub for livestock, Denver has corraled several more amenities over the years. Outdoor sports, craft beer, legal weed, live music and a wave of tech jobs have attracted travelers and transplants alike. But those who stay in this city must acknowledge its four-legged rulers, whether you own one or not.
Around 50 percent of Denver’s residents have a dog, with 68 percent reporting that they own at least one pet, according to a 2024 survey by the Colorado Polling Institute. In the same poll, just 20 percent of Denver residents said they had children under eighteen. Population numbers back that up, with Denver Parks & Recreation estimating the dog population in Denver at around 160,000, while the latest U.S. Census Bureau puts Denver’s eighteen-and-under human population at about 129,000.
Denver routinely makes lists that generate headlines like 2024’s “Denver places second in new study of dog-friendly U.S. cities” and, earlier this year, “Denver named one of the most dog-obsessed cities in America.” We all have friends and family members who send the “can I bring my dog?” text before coming over — if they even ask. There are co-working spaces, parades and entire food trucks dedicated to dogs in Denver, and that’s not counting the hundreds of establishments that happily hand out cups of whipped cream and water bowls for our furry friends.
As we see more and more businesses and institutions catering to canines, it’s hard not to occasionally wonder: Has Denver gone to the dogs?
Dogs are a gift to humanity; few dispute that. They provide loyal companionship, are incredibly cute and can even help anxious airport travelers and violent prisoners. Dogs are also walking garbage disposals, perpetual poop machines and mirrors of our own manners and disposition. If your neighbor is a rude, lazy prick with main character syndrome, chances are his dog has issues, too, adorable and fun as it may be. And if your neighbor’s a violent prick, then you have real problems.
Most of the pups, mutts and pooches we come across are well-behaved, but it’s easy to run into a not-so-good boy or girl with 160,000 in a city that’s so dog-friendly. Getting a drink at an outdoor patio (and virtually every brewery) in Denver usually includes a four-legged accomplice lying nearby, largely by design. In fact, in 2014, Denver became the first municipality in Colorado to allow dogs on public patios where food is being served, as long as certain rules are met.