Article by Louise Olsen-Marquez
Animal Shelters – October 2002 – Colorado Central Magazine
THE HISTORY OF SHELTERING the unwanted dog, the stray cat, or the lost pet in Chaffee County could be covered by the weary words of Blanche Dubois in A Streetcar Named Desire: I have always depended on the kindness of strangers. In Chaffee County, this kindness has mainly been shouldered by busy veterinarians and volunteers — and many of the costs have fallen upon local veterinarians and generous individuals, too.
In 1950, when Dr. Wendell Hutchinson, or Hutch, opened a veterinary clinic out of his home between Salida and Poncha Springs, rural veterinary care was similar all over the West: the main business was large animal care. But during the 1950s good vaccinations for rabies and distemper were developed for dogs and cats, and Hutch started vaccinating Salida pets, usually once in a lifetime.
Although rural pets were often left unvaccinated, by the mid-1950s it became a more normal occurrence to take a cat or dog to a veterinarian for a variety of reasons. Salida, like most western towns, had an animal control ordinance in the 1950s, but it was not strictly enforced. Police handled problem dogs as the situation arose, and periodically the stray cat population grew to a point that colonies had to be trapped and killed.
In rural parts of Chaffee County, ranchers made decisions on their own. Often it was the .22-caliber solution, as one law enforcement officer put it. And that is still a fairly common remedy in many of Colorado’s rural regions which offer few alternatives.
By 1965, when Hutch opened Mountain Shadows Veterinary Clinic, the city of Salida entered into an agreement with Hutch to house the strays and the lost and unwanted pets that were picked up by the police. Cats and dogs were brought to the shelter, cared for, and adopted out or euthanized.
Space was limited at Mountain Shadows, so Hutch did what he could to find homes for adoptable pets, and Dr. Kit Ryff, who took over Mountain Shadows in the 1980s, does the same to this day. In Buena Vista, Dr. Greg Kettering’s clinic assumed the same responsibilities as Mountain Shadows. Marianne Dugan provided foster care for strays.
But for awhile, the town of Buena Vista also ran The Shed for dogs at large. The Shed was an unheated garage with a few portable kennels and cement floors with no drainage. Water bowls would freeze in the winter, and dogs would swelter in the summer. Care — which relied upon the police officer on duty and how much extra time he had — varied.
IN 1990, A FEW DETERMINED PEOPLE in Buena Vista decided to create a better situation, and in February of 1991, the Ark-Valley Humane Society was formed with a clear mission: to establish and maintain an animal shelter for lost and unwanted pets; to reduce the number of unwanted pets through a spaying-neuter program; to provide a connection between homeless pets and adoptive homes; to offer lost and found services for pet owners; to prevent cruelty to animals; and to provide public education for responsible ownership in order to provide a more healthy, satisfying quality of life for all Chaffee County residents, humans and animals alike.
There is a plaque at the Ark-Valley Humane Society shelter with the names of the founding members who made it all possible: Marianne Dugan, Steve and Robin Evans, Doc and Marisabel Pruett, Dellina Strelow, Diane Clements, Virginia Lee, Millie Berchert, Jackie Whiteleather, and Georgia Brown.
On July 6, 1992, a ground-breaking ceremony was held on the future site of AVHS. Two acres near the airport were donated by the town of Buena Vista. Their next goal was to raise $60,000 to start the building itself. Bake sales, yard sales, breakfasts and dinners for bike tours, burgers for the Buffalo Peaks Hill Climb, monthly pledges, and raffles all contributed toward the goal. One of the most generous donations came from Doc and Marisabel Pruett, owners of Doc Holiday RV in Poncha Springs, who gave, among other donations, a $20,000 challenge grant.
Other individuals and businesses generously donated their expertise and materials. Ron Southard of Architonic Design Group donated the architectural plans and located building materials. Paul Moltz of Moltz Construction donated concrete. Numerous volunteers donated their time, knowledge and labor. Inmates from the Buena Vista Correctional Complex did most of the construction, and in May 1995, five years after the first meeting, AVHS opened its doors.
The founding members had thought about what they wanted in a shelter. Virginia Lee, or Gina, remembers that they wanted Ark-Valley to be a private organization, independent of city or county government. There was an initial concern that if the shelter became part of a government entity, they would have less say in decisions about an animal’s future. The founders did not want to be at the mercy of city and county politics, so they formed a 501(c)(3) to qualify for private grants.
THE FOUNDERS ALSO DECIDED that they would establish what is now called a “no-time-limit shelter.” Most municipal shelters, like Denver Dumb Friends League, euthanize animals within a certain standard time period because of limited space and the slow adoptability of some animals. AVHS policy is to euthanize only animals that are not adoptable.
Another decision the founders made was to be a Humane Society. The name humane society does not tie AVHS to any defining body other than for educational and organizational purposes.
But being a humane society does impart a philosophical viewpoint. The founders were animal lovers who wanted a shelter with enough space to treat the needy pets of Chaffee County with kindness, and they were successful. For the last three years, the residents of Chaffee County have selected AVHS as the best service organization in the county in the annual contest conducted by the local newspapers. Looking back seven years, founder Gina Lee says AVHS has gone completely beyond all of her expectations.
It is hard to find someone who disagrees. AVHS is a pleasant place to visit, volunteer at, or bring a child to pick out a new pet. AVHS staff members want to help a pet find a good home — not just another place to live. The attention dogs, cats, and human visitors receive is personal and caring, and the facility is kept immaculate.
The area AVHS serves is extensive. The closest shelters are in Summit County and Bailey to the north, Cañon City to the east, Alamosa to the south, and Gunnison to the west. Ark-Valley receives animals from Denver, Colorado Springs, New Mexico, and Leadville, and adopts to those areas as well.
There is an informal network between shelters. For example, Trinidad, which is just forming a shelter, brings foster dogs to AVHS if they think the dog may be more suited to a rural setting; otherwise they take dogs to Colorado Springs or Denver.
One of the best services AVHS has given the community, says Hutch, is the crematorium. Two years ago AVHS opened the crematorium next to the shelter and it has given many a pet owner a simple and comforting way to part with their companion animal.
HUTCH KNOWS what it means to dispose of a pet’s body. After he opened his clinic, Hutch was asked if he would bury a dead pet on his ranch. “You have a lot of land, could you bury my dog?”
Thus, his cemetery with a cross for each pet was started. Hutch buried animals at the pet cemetery for a $5 charge which included a cross, and from the 1950s to the 1980s when he semi-retired, he also buried all of the animals that he euthanized at Mountain Shadows — including horses — on his own property in big pits near the trees. The pet cemetery, a local landmark, is now closed but it hasn’t been closed for long; Hutch put the last cross up this spring after the ground thawed.
Now, arrangements for cremating an animal can be made by calling the shelter, and most local veterinarians will handle arrangements with the shelter for you. The cost is by weight; $35 is the basic fee; for an animal weighing 75 pounds or more, the cost is $75. Ashes can be picked up from the shelter in containers varying in price from $2.75 to $5.
AVHS educational services have also had an effect on our county. There is a weekly newspaper column by volunteers called Pawprints, a quarterly newsletter, a website, and a staff that is always willing to dispense support, advice and their insight into animal health, training and behavior.
Public education is sometimes done on an individual basis, too. Since 1998, AVHS has worked closely with Buena Vista Code Enforcement Officer Susan Dryer to educate and correct inhumane situations for pets. Amy Zelig, director of AVHS, praises Dryer for her diplomacy and diligence.
When there’s a problem, Zelig and Dryer start by talking to owners in a non-confrontational manner. They discuss neglect and the needs of pets, then give the owner an opportunity to give up the pet if the animal has become too much of a bother for them to take care of. At that point, Zelig says, owners often willingly give up their dogs. But if the situation has not improved and the owner wants to keep the dog, Dryer sends a certified letter describing the inhumane treatment and encouraging the owner to correct the problem or give the animal up for adoption. Generally, this intervention is successful, and Dryer seldom has to pursue the situation legally.
AVHS has numerous success stories about dogs with a past; an unkempt, lethargic dog is left out on a rope indefinitely, then rescued and adopted out, and it becomes a wonderful pet. The before and after pictures are often on AVHS’s web site.
But this scenario does not just happen. Each dog and cat that comes into the shelter is temperament tested. Temperament testing is a program that has been used successfully for several years to test both dogs and cats for aggressive behavior. The test provides a good indicator of the kind of behavior the animal will exhibit on a regular basis and about what kind of owner and situation will be best for the pet. A dog that is too aggressive is considered dangerous and is euthanized for the safety of the community.
HOW DO SHELTERS support themselves? Mountain Shadows is compensated by the city of Salida, but compensation has always been meager. Darwin Hibbs, Salida’s Chief of Police, praises the continuum of generous and caring vets from Dr. Hutchinson to Dr. Kit Ryff at Mountain Shadows. Hibbs figures they probably just break even on the costs of being a shelter.
Dr. Ryff says it’s hard to calculate how much it costs to have his staff care for lost and unwanted pets, handle phone calls about lost pets, and show pets to potential owners. Mountain Shadows still receives some donations from the community. But Riff also works closely with AVHS, often sending animals to the Ark-Valley shelter if they are not adopted at Mountain Shadows. Ryff would like to see an AVHS shelter established in Salida and says there is a definite need in the southern part of the county.
But the financial obligations of running a shelter are steep. AVHS requires about $9,500 per month to survive. The Society pays a manager, Amy Zelig, the shelter’s only full-time employee, plus an office assistant, and four kennel assistants. Cleaning cages and exercising and playing with dogs and cats is supplemented by volunteers.
SO HOW does a private, non- profit shelter like AVHS support itself? Support comes in various forms: donations (21%); grants (11%); fund-raisers(17%); and services rendered — such as adoptions (11%), tags, boarding fees, surrender fees, impound fees, and retail sales (40%). Grant writing is done by a volunteer, Judy Lore.
To make ends meet, the shelter has to budget carefully, and it’s extremely dependent upon the generosity of the community it serves. Although some shelters on the Front Range are well-financed, donations are heartily needed locally.
The Colorado Department of Agriculture sets the standards for shelters in Colorado and does annual inspections of each shelter. According to Zelig, the AVHS shelter will continue to meet the standards and requirements of the state, but right now that means building an isolation unit for about $100,000.
WITHOUT an isolation unit, the shelter is supposed to shut down every time there is an outbreak of illness. Thus far, the shelter has raised $50,000 for the isolation unit, with $15,000 coming from grants. The humane society begins construction this month.
With the funds on hand, and some donated time and materials, AVHS hopes to build the unit for $50,000, or raise the other $50,000 as soon as possible.
The relationship between the municipalities within the county, the county itself, and the shelter is defined yet ever subject to change. Cats and dogs in Salida and Buena Vista can be picked up because there is a leash law in effect within both towns, and the sheriff’s office pays the city of Salida to handle calls in the county. But last summer, the sheriff’s office decided that it could no longer pay for code enforcement officers to pick up cats in the county.
Sheriff Ron Bergmann said the attorney for the county questioned whether the county’s animal control ordinance dealt with cats. According to Bergmann’s under- standing of the law, cats have “open domain” and the sheriff’s office is only responsible for controlling dogs at large in the county.
BUENA VISTA Code Enforcement Officer Susan Dryer says she is noticing a trend since the county stopped picking up cats: people are bringing unwanted cats into town and dropping them off.
From the perspective of the humane society, this is a step backward in humane care for cats. The new policy makes it difficult to further the humane society’s goals to reduce the number of unwanted cats through spaying and neutering, and to prevent the spread of disease. If a wild cat is bothering your pet cat in areas outside the city limits, your only alternative is to catch that cat and bring it to Mountain Shadows or AVHS. Hibbs says that live traps are available through the police office.
SALIDA’S POLICE CHIEF thinks that AVHS has been a wonderful influence in the community and a help for Mountain Shadows. Hibbs also appreciates the humane society’s attempt to educate all of us about our pets, especially about the importance of spaying and neutering animals, because he feels that the whole problem of animal control is exacerbated by irresponsible pet owners.
As our community changes from a rural region to a more urban setting, the relationship between Chaffee County, its towns, and the Ark-Valley Humane Society shelter will continue to change.
County Commissioner Joe De Luca characterizes our situation this way: people move here from the city, buy a place in the country, and want services that we have not totally provided previously — such as more complete animal control. De Luca says the cost of animal control is usually paid for by the licensing of dogs and cats, but there is no licensing in the county. So if we want more government services, the countryside will have to become more like the city, and county residents will have to license their pets in order to pay for the increasing costs of animal control and an adequate animal shelter.
For the last 50 years, the lost and unwanted pets of Chaffee County have been dependent upon veterinarians, volunteers, and the co-operation of city and county governments. Although funding has always been a problem, AVHS has sheltered stray pets in Chaffee County for seven years now, and it’s hard to imagine what we would do without the Ark-Valley shelter.
When ongoing services to a community are needed, where does the responsibility of the individual donor end, and the responsibility of city and county government begin?
Amy Zelig, the manager of AVHS, states her view clearly: AVHS will not lower its standards. AVHS will not limit its policies on neutering, vaccinations, and everyday care for needy pets. If the Ark-Valley Humane Society doesn’t get the support it needs to operate a good facility, then the shelter will close.
It has been said that one clear indication of sound health that can be applied to a culture, nation, town, community, or an individual, is how well we take care of those dependent upon us.
And what have humans toiled for thousands of years to make as dependent upon us as possible? Domesticated animals, especially dogs and cats.
As Chaffee County changes, it will be interesting to see how well we care for lost and homeless animals. Will AVHS still be here? Will there be a compassionate place to shelter the lost dog found skulking in the shadows or the litter of kittens abandoned in the ditch?
How well we take care of homeless animals — and the shelter that gives them a second chance — is up to us as individuals and as a community.
Louise Olsen-Marquez and her husband are owned by three Chaffee County dogs who live right outside of Salida.
