By Heidi Ganahl | Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice
Editor’s note: This is the first in a commentary series. Please check back for more in the series.
Last week, our family added a new furry member: 7-month-old “Bruce”, a bull terrier pup rescued out of a domestic violence situation, through my dear friend Lynn Gerber’s rescue organization, Pawsitive Pathways.
Most folks know I founded and built the pet care franchise Camp Bow Wow, but the thing I’m most proud of in my career was building the Bow Wow Buddies Foundation, it’s sister charity. Working with our franchisees across the country, we were able to rehome over 10,000 dogs over a decade. Pet rescue is near and dear to me, and it’s a huge problem.
Approximately 6.3 million dogs, cats, and other household pets are surrendered to animal shelters each year. Unfortunately, because of the lack of space and resources, around 1 million dogs and cats are euthanized annually.
The situation in Colorado is particularly dire, with more than 5,300 dogs euthanized in 2023 alone. The dysfunction within Colorado’s pet rescue system highlights a pressing need for reform and increased support for shelters.
Take a deeper dive and you’ll find the Colorado animal welfare industry has become entangled in politics, money, donors, and financial incentives. Gov. Polis is deeply involved, as is his partner, Marlon Reis. As is one of the biggest, most beloved animal non-profits in Colorado which we’ll cover in Part II of this series.
Right now, there is an overwhelming crisis of animals being adopted without sterilization that is putting immense strain on our shelter system in Colorado. Approximately, 75% of strays and surrenders enter shelters unsterilized, burdening our animal welfare resources. Colorado shelters and rescues took in about 154,000 dogs and cats in 2023 , of which, approximately 134,000 were either adopted or returned to their owners after having strayed. That’s an awful lot of furry lives that are lost here, it’s heartbreaking.
One fix is to ensure all animals are spayed or neutered before adoption, regardless of their origin, to give them the best chance at a healthy life and support our shelters’ efforts.
Current law mandates sterilization before selling or adopting out pets, but some rescue organizations misuse a health exemption to sell unsterilized puppies and kittens.
Originally, the bill allowed exemptions only if an animal’s life was at risk. However, last legislative session, politicians amended the bill to reinstate a “health” exemption for animals born in Colorado. While Gov. Polis collaborated on this amendment to supposedly provide more flexibility for Colorado veterinarians, concerns remain about its impact on animal welfare.
Animal rights advocates believe the amendment simply closes one loophole and opens up a new one that can be similarly abused. They want to remove this exemption except when life is at risk.
As it stands now, any dog or puppy from out of state must be altered before being adopted, but pet animals born in Colorado do not have the same requirement. There is virtually no way to prove a stray or shelter animal was born in Colorado, one can only prove it was not born in Colorado by tracking down a Certificate of Veterinary Inspection required for each animal entering the state from another state. Bad actors need only claim an animal is from Colorado and receive a letter of spay/neuter exemption from a licensed veterinarian, which these irresponsible rescues have done for years under the prior law. Another way around the law is to bring in a pregnant mother and once her litter is born in Colorado each of the puppies or kittens are now eligible for the exemption.
Most dogs entering the system as strays or surrenders are not altered, indicating a correlation with higher euthanasia rates as younger dogs imported into Colorado are taking adoption spots from older Colorado dogs.
This nuance in the law, keeping it to when “life is at risk” versus simply the term “health,” can keep importation of puppies from out of state in check.
We must prioritize the well-being of all animals and the consumers who adopt them, remove this exemption, and only allow exemptions when an animal’s life is truly at risk.
We should spay and neuter as many dogs and cats as possible, there should be a massive effort to do so, with as few exemptions as possible. And spread the word to stop adopting puppies from rescues that import from outside our state, and profit from it.
Also, let’s fix this law so that bad actors can’t keep more adoptable dogs from finding their forever home.
Colorado stakeholders can weigh in by attending the PACFA meeting on Wednesday, Aug. 21, at 12:30 p.m. More info at https://ag.colorado.gov/events/colorado-ag-commission-meeting-august-2024
Editor’s note: Opinions expressed in commentary pieces are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the management of the Rocky Mountain Voice, but even so we support the constitutional right of the author to express those opinions.