{"id":75050,"date":"2020-03-02T10:50:17","date_gmt":"2020-03-02T17:50:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/colorado-lawmakers-want-to-stop-dogs-cats-from-being-euthanized\/"},"modified":"2020-03-02T17:50:17","modified_gmt":"2020-03-02T17:50:17","slug":"colorado-lawmakers-want-to-stop-dogs-cats-from-being-euthanized","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/colorado-lawmakers-want-to-stop-dogs-cats-from-being-euthanized\/","title":{"rendered":"Colorado lawmakers want to stop dogs, cats from being euthanized"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"Chevy,
Chevy, a Lab-mix puppy, is carried by Misty Vincent in October 2018 at the La Plata County Humane Society. The dog was transferred from an overcrowded facility in Texas.<\/span>Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald file<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Sometimes, food and shelter just aren\u2019t enough.<\/p>\n

A bill at Colorado\u2019s Capitol says dogs and cats deserve more when they\u2019re lost or abandoned \u2013 they need mental and emotional care, too.<\/p>\n

Lawmakers want to ensure that dogs and cats are adopted, returned to their owners or transferred to another shelter.<\/p>\n

Senate Bill 164 establishes a standard of care for dogs and cats and says they must receive appropriate food, water, shelter, medical care and enrichment.<\/p>\n

\u201cA dog\u2019s or cat\u2019s quality of life and health includes mental and emotional well-being as well as physical health,\u201d SB164 says.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s about caring for our animals \u2026 people love their pets,\u201d said Sen. Rhonda Fields, D-Aurora, who is championing the measure.<\/p>\n

\"A
A dog greets a visitor at the La Plata County Humane Society in Durango.<\/span>Durango Herald file<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

The legislation \u2013 which passed the Senate and is heading to the House \u2013 would still allow an animal to be euthanized if it is terminally ill, injured or aggressive, but not because of a lack of space or time spent at a shelter.<\/p>\n

Colorado\u2019s shelters and rescues are licensed and inspected by the state\u2019s Department of Agriculture, through the Pet Animal Care Facilities Act program.<\/p>\n

In 2018, 184,293 animals \u2013 everything from goats to snakes \u2013 ended up in animal shelters. And about 89% of them were adopted, returned to their owners or transferred to another shelter, according to data collected by the Colorado Department of Agriculture.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis (bill) wouldn\u2019t have too much impact for us because we are already operating on those standards, and I don\u2019t know many that are not,\u201d said Chris Nelson, director of animal services for the La Plata County Humane Society.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf the animal is a danger of causing harm or death to an animal or a person, then we will euthanize. Or if they have an illness or disease that\u2019s not curable and they will have a poor quality of life,\u201d Nelson said.<\/p>\n

But he said the bill might create challenges for shelters that struggle with overcrowding. He said the La Plata County Humane Society used to euthanize for space, but not anymore.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe used to euthanize 30% of our dogs and cats before I started. Right now, we euthanize about 2% to 3%, and that\u2019s for health reasons,\u201d Nelson said. \u201cWe even hospice out some of our dogs and cats.\u201d<\/p>\n

Part of the reason the shelter has been able to decrease euthanasia rates is because of the practice of trap, neuter, release, which is when a shelter collects feral cats, spays or neuters them, then releases them back into the wild. But the practice doesn\u2019t immediately lower population and it doesn\u2019t help get more animals placed in a home. It just helps reduce future populations.<\/p>\n

Nelson said they\u2019ve come a long way, and that the dog population in Southwest Colorado is under control. But cats have a \u201clong way to go.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Chris
Chris Nelson, director of the La Plata County Humane Society, gives a treat to Buddy, a Great Dane mix, that was surrendered to the shelter.<\/span>Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald file<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Jennifer Crouse, shelter supervisor for the city of Cortez\u2019s animal shelter, says her facility also used to struggle with overcrowding.<\/p>\n

\u201cSince we\u2019ve significantly increased our transports to other shelters in the last few years, our overcrowding has gone way down,\u201d Crouse said. \u201cIt\u2019s not really a problem anymore. And our euthanasia has gone down by about 60% as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

She says her shelter relies on grant money from the Animal Assistance Foundation to help bolster a small medical budget.<\/p>\n

The bill received pushback from a handful of Republican lawmakers, including Sen. Don Coram of Montrose, who worried that it will cause shelter overcrowding.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the western part of Colorado, there\u2019s just not as much of a demand for pet adoption,\u201d Coram said, adding that overcrowding is in part because of Colorado shelters accepting so many animals from out of state.<\/p>\n

Sen. Bob Gardner, a Colorado Springs Republican who opposed the measure, said it is merely \u201cfeel-good legislation.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis bill doesn\u2019t create a standard of care. The standard of care already exists,\u201d Gardner said. \u201cIt won\u2019t help the pet that was improperly euthanized. If this was a bill that would do that, I wouldn\u2019t be standing up here and saying that this bill doesn\u2019t do anything.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gardner criticized the measure for neglecting to protect other critters.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt does choose dogs and cats over hedgehogs, and as you recall on second reading, I told you that my daughter has a hedgehog. And I don\u2019t think it\u2019s going to escape, but if it did, he would go to the animal shelter. There\u2019s no standard of care in here for the hedgehog,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\"Colorado
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis delivers the State of the State address in the House chamber Jan. 9 at the Capitol.<\/span>Kathryn Scott\/The Colorado Sun file<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

\u201cThe socially conscious animal community movement strives to create the best outcomes for all animals by treating them respectfully and alleviating suffering \u2013 two key commitments all veterinarians take upon entering veterinary school,\u201d Katherine Wessels, a spokeswoman for the Colorado Veterinary Medical Association, said in a written statement.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s the model used by the Humane Society of the Pikes Peak Region.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will never euthanize for time or space,\u201d said Kate Aviv, community relations specialist for the Humane Society of the Pikes Peak Region in Pueblo. \u201cWe don\u2019t turn away any animals in need.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we see they\u2019ve been here too long, we will transfer to another place. Or we will transfer them into foster care so they can be in homes while they wait,\u201d Aviv said. \u201cA lot of no-kill shelters can pick and choose which ones they take into the shelters. But socially conscious shelters have to take in every animal.\u201d<\/p>\n

If a pet is found, Aviv\u2019s shelter holds it for five to six days and tries to find the owner by posting on lost-and-found boards, checking microchips and scanning Facebook posts.<\/p>\n

She says their organization \u2013 which includes shelters in Colorado Springs, Pueblo, Centennial and Douglas County \u2013 has an extensive network of shelters that work together to house animals with specific needs. But they don\u2019t transfer animals outside of their jurisdiction.<\/p>\n

In 2018, 6,199 animals came through the Pueblo location, with 1,603 of them being adopted and 1,312 being reunited with their owners.<\/p>\n

About 666 animals were euthanized in the shelter, and another 385 were euthanized at owners\u2019 request. The remainder of the animals were either transferred to other facilities or died of natural causes. Between all four shelters, the organization euthanized about 10% of their animals.<\/p>\n

\"A
A puppy that was surrendered to the La Plata County Humane Society.<\/span>Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald file<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Aviv said she\u2019s excited to see legislators discussing how to care for animals in shelters in the most ethical way possible.<\/p>\n

\u201cI do believe it\u2019s the best approach to sheltering,\u201d Aviv said.<\/p>\n

For Rep. Monica Duran, D-Denver, who is helping bring the bill, it\u2019s about giving animals a second chance. \u201cWe need to be caring for our animals,\u201d said Duran, who owns two Pomeranians.<\/p>\n

In early February, Duran brought a measure that would have put more regulations on puppy mills, but it did not make it out of committee. She said it failed because small pet stores were worried the changes would cost their businesses too much money.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith legislation like this, it\u2019s all about changing mindsets,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

The animal shelter bill is also being led by Sen. Joann Ginal, D-Fort Collins, and Rep. Alex Valdez, D-Denver.<\/p>\n

If enacted into law, the legislation would take effect in August.<\/p>\n

The Colorado Sun is a reader-supported, journalist-owned news outlet exploring issues of statewide interest. Read more at coloradosun.com<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

allow euthanasia in some hardship cases; in Cortez, rate drops to 60%<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":75051,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[382,21,5528,28,29],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-75050","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-animal","tag-cortez","tag-euthanasia","tag-headlines","tag-newsletter"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75050","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=75050"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75050\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/75051"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=75050"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=75050"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=75050"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=75050"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}