As a general rule, we love dogs here in America. They are man's best friend, after all. Women and children, too! We love dogs so much in this country that if you're one who does not care for pooches, the rest of us will look at you funny. Is that fair? No, but it just goes to show how beloved dogs are in this country.

With love of canines so ubiquitous, one must wonder which particular dogs are most popular on a state-by-state basis. And it turns out that Reader's Digest and I are on the same mental wavelength, because they had the same question. They teamed up with the American Kennel Club (AKC) to find each state's favorite dog, so let's see what they found...

Let's check on our neighbors, first!

Versus looking at the whole list for all fifty states' favorite dogs, I decided to hone in on our area. Specifically, I wanted to see how some of our closest neighbor states turned out, before we looked at Colorado, which can be a little trickier.

I will make one exception, for the simple fact that one state confused me. As it turns out, Alabama loves Beagles! I assume that's due to the beagle being a scent dog, but I'd have also assumed California or New York would have the beagle monopoly because of city hipsters, but I'd have been mistaken there, too.

Enough about Alabama!

With Alabama out of the way, let's get back to our neck of the woods. And we'll start with Utah, who loves retrievers! Specifically, Utah is quite fond of both Labrador and Golden retrievers, as well as German Shepherds.

Now, this is not unique, as most of the rest of the country also prefers the dogs they've seen on TV. Arizona shares this trait, with the exact same dogs on their list as well. California is a little bit more unique, with a predilection for French bulldogs in addition to the standard, Labs and Goldens.

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So, what is Colorado's favorite dog?

According to Reader's Digest, Colorado's favorite dog is actually a little tricky to determine. See, Colorado's actual favorite dog, much to our credit, is the rescue dog! However, rescue dogs are frequently mixed-breed dogs, which are not recognized by the AKC as a breed of dog.

Per the AKC, Colorado's favorite breeds of dog would be German Shepherds, Labs and Goldens, falling in line with most everybody else. Again, this is solely based on pure breeds of dogs, but it definitely adds up when you notice the kinds of dogs most prevalent out here on the Western Slope. It adds up, but I still disagree.

We love rescues!

I still like to think our actual favorite dog in Colorado is the rescue dog, which is a whole lot more interesting than liking the same dogs as everyone else! Honestly, were I one to petition the government, and I'm most assuredly not, I would call to have the rescue dog named as the official dog of Colorado.

Just imagine: Colorado - the Rescue Dog Refuge. Has a nice ring to it, if you ask me. I'm also fairly certain it'd make California crazy. So... added bonus.

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