Denver Area Pet News, Events, Fundraisers, Pet Stores and Shelter information!

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Pet Events Pet Fundraisers Apr 21, 2011 to Jun 2, 2011 in Golden, CO, US What: Puppy & Dog Training Classes Where: Foothills Animal Shelter (580 McIntyre Street, Golden, 80401) When: Class Schedule Pawsitively Puppy Thursdays (6-6:45 p.m.) 4/21/11-6/2/11 (Please note the week of 5/26 will be skipped because of Memorial ... Overview Map Photos Reviews LEARN MORE

Fast and the Furriest April 23, 2011 in Fort Collins, CO, US Race day features a fantastic doggie/runner expo, a fast new course, live music by our very own PVM 2011 band, Bog Spavin, lots of race day give-aways, doggie demos, and the best raffle in town! Overview Map Photos Reviews LEARN MORE

PetSmart Adopt-a-thon for Foothills Animal Shelter April 30, 2011 in Wheat Ridge, CO, US WHAT: PetSmart Adopt-a-thon for Foothills Animal Shelter WHEN: Saturday, April 30, 10AM-4PM WHERE: PetSmart (3540 Youngfield St., Wheat Ridge, CO 80033) DETAILS: During this national PetSmart adoption weekend, Foothills Animal Shelter will have many wonderful canine ... Overview Map Photos Reviews LEARN MORE

Dumb Friends League Furry Scurry May 7, 2011 in Denver, CO, US Help homeless pets at the Dumb Friends League by participating in the Furry Scurry! The 18th annual Furry Scurry, sponsored by Hill’s Science Diet, Banfield, The Pet Hospital, HomeAgain, King Soopers and Amica Mutual Insurance Company, ... Overview Map Photos Reviews LEARN MORE

Zoom Room Longmont Grand Opening May 7, 2011 in Longmont, CO, US On May 7, 2011, the Zoom Room will open its doors to celebrate the social aspect of dog ownership in Longmont, Colorado. The day will include FREE dog agility classes throughout the morning and a fabulous ... Overview Map Photos Reviews LEARN MORE

Grand Opening Zoom Room Longmont May 7, 2011 in Longmont, CO, US Our Grand Opening is May 7, 2011 – and you and your dog are invited! We’ll be offering free dog agility classes, and then featuring a fantastic party in the evening which will raise funds for ... Overview Map Photos Reviews LEARN MORE

3rd Annual Lakewood Animal Control Taggin' Waggin' May 15, 2011 in Lakewood, CO, US This event is a dog licensing and low cost vaccination clinic for dogs. We will also have pet related vendor and educational booths as well as pet entertainment. It will be a great time for the ... Overview Map Photos Reviews LEARN MORE

Family Fun Day May 21, 2011 in Littleton, CO, US Bring your friendly dogs to our Family Fun Day Visit our 45,000 square foot in-door off leash arena Have a hot dog lunch Go on a hay ride Additional Activities available for: Pony Rides- $10.00 Petting ... Overview Map Photos Reviews LEARN MORE

Ella's Walk - Longmont May 21, 2011 in Longmont, CO, US Help the Longmont Humane Society raise more than $50,000 for the homeless pets in our community and beyond! The 18th Annual Ella’s Walk and Furry Friends Festival takes place on Sunday, May 22, at the Boulder ... Overview Map Photos Reviews LEARN MORE

Foothills Animal Foundation's 6th Annual Mulligans For Mutts Golf Tournament June 13, 2011 in Lakewood, CO, US The 6th annual Mulligans for Mutts golf tournament will be held at Lakewood Country Club on June 13, 2011. Golfers can choose between a morning or afternoon flight. Participants will have the chance to win great ... Overview Map Photos Reviews LEARN MORE

Letter From a Shelter Manager- Shelter Dogs Need Help!

Letter From a Shelter Manager (Colorado)

LETTER FROM A SHELTER MANAGER:

"I think our society needs a huge "Wake-up" call. ...As a shelter manager, I am going to share a little insight with you all...a view from the inside if you will. First off, all of you people who have ever surrendered a pet to a shelter or humane society should be made to work in the "back" of an animal shelter for ... See Morejust ... See Moreone day. Maybe if you saw the life drain from a few sad, lost, confused eyes, you would stop flagging the ads on craigslist and help these animals find homes. That puppy you just bought will most likely end up in my shelter when it's not a cute little puppy anymore. Just so you know there's a 90% chance that dog will never walk out of the shelter it’s dumped at? Purebred or not! About 25% of all of the dogs that are "owner surrenders" or "strays", that come into a shelter are purebred dogs.

The most common excuses: "We are moving and we can't take our dog (or cat)." Really? Where are you moving too that doesn't allow pets? Or they say "The dog got bigger than we thought it would". How big did you think a German Shepherd would get? "We don't have time for her". Really? I work a 10-12 hour day and still have time for my 6 dogs! "She's tearing up our yard". How about making her a part of your family? They always tell me "We just don't want to have to stress about finding a place for her we know she'll get adopted, she's a good dog".

Odds are your pet won't get adopted & how stressful do you think being in a shelter is? Well, let me tell you, your pet has 72 hours to find a new family from the moment you drop it off. Sometimes a little longer if the shelter isn't full and your dog manages to stay completely healthy. If it sniffles, it dies. Your pet will be confined to a small run/kennel in a room with other barking or crying animals. It will have to relieve itself where it eats and sleeps. It will be depressed and it will cry constantly for the family that abandoned it. If your pet is lucky, I will have enough volunteers in that day to take him/her for a walk. If I don't, your pet won't get any attention besides having a bowl of food slid under the kennel door and the waste sprayed out of its pen with a high-powered hose. If your dog is big, black or any of the "Bully" breeds (pit bull, rottie, mastiff, etc) it was pretty much dead when you walked it through the front door. Those dogs just don't get adopted. It doesn't matter how 'sweet' or 'well behaved' they are.

If your dog doesn't get adopted within its 72 hours and the shelter is full, it will be destroyed. If the shelter isn't full and your dog is good enough, and of a desirable enough breed it may get a stay of execution, but not for long . Most dogs get very kennel protective after about a week and are destroyed for showing aggression. Even the sweetest dogs will turn in this environment. If your pet makes it over all of those hurdles chances are it will get kennel cough or an upper respiratory infection and will be destroyed because the shelter gets paid a fee to euthanize each animal and making money is better than spending money to take this animal to the vet.

Here's a little euthanasia 101 for those of you that have never witnessed a perfectly healthy, scared animal being "put-down". First, your pet will be taken from its kennel on a leash. They always look like they think they are going for a walk happy, wagging their tails. Until they get to "The Room", every one of them freaks out and puts on the brakes when we get to the door. It must smell like death or they can feel the sad souls that are left in there, it's strange, but it happens with every one of them. Your dog or cat will be restrained, held down by 1 or 2 shelter workers depending on the size and how freaked out they are. Then a shelter worker who we call a euthanasia tech (not a vet) find a vein in the front leg and inject a lethal dose of the "pink stuff". Hopefully your pet doesn't panic from being restrained and jerk. I've seen the needles tear out of a leg and been covered with the resulting blood and been deafened by the yelps and screams. They all don't just "go to sleep", sometimes they spasm for a while, gasp for air and defecate on themselves. You see shelters are trying to make money to pay employee pay checks and don’t forget the board of directors needs to be paid too, so we don’t spend our funds to tranquilize the animal before injecting them with the lethal drug, we just put the burning lethal drug in the vein and let them suffer until dead. If it were not a “making money issue” and we had to have a licensed vet do this procedure, the animal would be sedated or tranquilized and then euthanized, but to do this procedure correctly would cost more money so we do not follow what is right for the animal, we just follow what is the fastest way we can make a dollar. Shelters do not have to have a vet perform their euthanasia’s so even if it takes our employee 50 pokes with a needle and 3 hours to get the vein that is what we do. Making money is the issue here not loosing money.

When it all ends, your pets corpse will be stacked like firewood in a large freezer in the back with all of the other animals that were killed waiting to be picked up like garbage. What happens next? Cremated? Taken to the dump? Rendered into pet food? Or used for the schools to dissect and experiment on? You'll never know and it probably won't even cross your mind. It was just an animal and you can always buy another one, right!

I hope that those of you who still have a beating heart and have read this are bawling your eyes out and can't get the pictures out of your head, I deal with this everyday. I hate my job, I hate that it exists & I hate that it will always be there unless you people make some changes and start educating the public. Do research, do your homework, and know exactly what you are getting into before getting a pet. These shelters and humane societies exist because people just do not care about animals anymore. Animals were not intended to be disposable but somehow that is what they are these days. Animal shelters are an easy way out when you get tired of your dog (or cat), and breeders are the ones blamed for this. Animal shelters and rescue organizations are making a hefty profit by keeping this misconception going.

Between 9 and 11 MILLION animals die every year in shelters and only you - as a pet owner can stop it. I just hope I maybe changed one persons mind about taking their dog to a shelter, a humane society, or buying a dog without researching. For those of you that care--- please repost this to at least one other craiglist in another city/state. Let's see if we can get this all around the US and have an impact.
PROMISE A FUTURE - and DON'T FAIL THEM! PETS ARE FOR A LIFETIME!!!

Our Annual Maxfund Pet Drive!

Thanks to all that helped make this year another exciting time to help those less fortunate Pet's in shelters during the Holidays. We donated close to $300 worth of items to the shelter and we can't wait to hear back about how much they are enjoying these gifts. Thanks again to everyone that participated!


History of Maxfund
At this time another hospital that took emergencies had taken in a dog that was hit by car, this dog had multiple injuries. One of Dr. Suro’s clients heard of this dog and asked if he would take it. The Good Samaritan had paid for the immediate medical care. But no owner could be found, and after 10 days the dog faced euthanasia. He was now stable medically, but needed expensive orthopedic surgery for his fractures, and no one was willing to pay for it. The Suro’s agreed to see what they could do for him.

Why the name MaxFund?
When we brought the dog into the hospital they found a good-natured, headstrong big male dog, probably a cross between a German Shepherd and a German Shorthair. Pointer. The staff named him Max. He was facing several surgeries and a long rehabilitation. The Suro’s decided to get the hospital cliental and other pet lovers involved with helping with some of Max’s expenses. From donated services from outside doctors, a fishbowl on the counter with the name “Max”, and a yard sale they actually ended up with more money than the Suro’s had expected. Dr. Suro said,” There are a lot of nice animals that don’t have a job.” They decided to apply it to the next case and the next—

Maxfund Information