The Colorado State Open Thread is for people who know, like, enjoy, remember or dream of Colorado. We welcome all input, of whatever is on your mind. Contribute stories, comments, tales, pictures, smells, food, or bitcoin, whatever you wish to share.
I freely admit, I long for spring and warmth to come and stay up at elevation. We had some T-shirt weather for a few hours last week, but by this past weekend, snow and fierce winds made going out for walks with “Man’s best friends” somewhat uncomfortable. In all, we only received maybe 2-3 inches of light fluff, and now we seem to have rain as the snow melts, but yes, we’ll take all the moisture Mother Nature wants to bless us with. I’ve seen totals of around 92-96% of normal snowpack at this point, and I’ve even seen over 100% in a couple of drainages, but since those can change after just a couple of days of warm weather, I’ve stopped paying too close attention. Mother Nature will give or take as she will and there’s not much we can do about it.
Last week’s challenge was about how a Pootie, a Woozle (dog) and an automobile might go together here in Colorado.
This was the black pootie (unnamed) and our new foster woozle Shaggy on the right.
Colorado License Plate Design
Central Design of Paw, Dog and Cat
This is the style of license plate I have on my car. I’ve had the car from the era before I was living on the border of Rocky Mountain National Park, which has its own license plate style, but I’m firmly behind the meaning of this one as well.
Mrs. ColoTim has started fostering kittens for the Denver Dumb Friends League, DDFL, Denver’s largest and probably best known animal shelter. They aren’t the sole beneficiaries of this license plate as some of the other specialized plates are dedicated to a single organization, but here is who (what) benefits:
Fees: One-time fee of $80.00 for new issuance or replacement of plates, in addition to other taxes and fees. The $80.00 fee is split between three funds, $25.00 to the Highway Users Tax Fund(C.R.S. 43-4-201); $25.00 to the Licensing Services Cash Fund (C.R.S. 42-2-114.5); and $30.00 to the Pet Overpopulation Fund (C.R.S. 35-80-116.5) In addition to all other taxes and fees, a person renewing an Adopt a Pet license plate shall pay a $25.00 Pet Overpopulation Fund fee to renew.
I used to have the “Supports Wildlife” license plate on my hybrid Ford Escape vehicle, but that supports just one raptor rescue group and the head of that group is a climate change denier, so I really hated to see my fees supporting his group. I had gotten that plate to let people know I support wildlife, which I do, and I didn’t care for the “Supports Life” plates that honor the Columbine victims and which has become symbolic of the anti-choice, forced birther movement in Colorado. So I was happy to have the excuse to have the “Adopt” license plate. My next will likely be the Rocky Mountain NP one, but I’m not sure when I’ll need a new one.
Mrs. Colotim was notified by the Dumb Friends League that Shaggy needed someone to foster him for at least 30 days and I’ve been trying to get a large dog to help protect our little Cocker spaniel Ginger while we’re out walking, especially at night in our mountain homeland. OK, I’ll be honest, I wanted help protecting me as well.
Shaggy was surrendered by a family that supposedly had the daughter moving out and the parents wanting to downsize where they lived. I say “supposedly” because there appeared to be some information missing from the intake form. Like, the fact that Shaggy has epilepsy, but hasn’t been on any medication for it. We’re going to watch him for 30 days to see if medicine will help, and after 10 days, he hasn’t had a second seizure so we’re cautiously optimistic. If, after 30 days, he is doing well, we’re going to adopt him (a foster fail). We’re not sure what he’s a combination of. He supposedly is a Labrador retriever and Standard Poodle (a labradoodle), but his coat coloration suggests something more like an Australian shepherd mixed with the Poodle. He originally came from a breeder, but again, the information on the intake form may be wrong. The story is plausible, but my suspicion is that the family decided they didn’t want to deal with a dog with epilepsy, so they “surrendered” him after having him for five years.
There have been a number of stories and posts about how crowded the animal shelters in Colorado and across the country are now, for all species. Apparently, during the pandemic’s height, when many people were staying home, they figured that they had time to care for an animal. Once people began working outside of the home again (Thanks, President Biden for getting so many people hired again), they didn’t have time for the animals so they brought them to shelters. From www.axios.com/...
Why it matters:Nearly 1 in 5 households adopted a dog or cat during the first year of the COVID-19 crisis,according tothe American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
But as normal life resumes, furry friends are showing up at shelters in droves and increasingly having trouble finding new homes, putting them at risk of euthanasia.
Driving the news:The Dumb Friends League on Monday reported "critical" capacity levels and "significant" increases in the number of dogs at its three shelters across Colorado.
Dog surrenders are up 15% compared to pre-pandemic levels, while stray dog intakes have soared 41%. The shelters took in more than 1,100 animals in March alone.
The Denver Animal Shelter is overcrowded with small animals, housing more than double the number of rabbits, guinea pigs, mice and turtles this year than before the COVID-19 pandemic.
The shelter announced the overcrowding in a release Wednesday, urging residents to consider adopting some of its small animals.
Currently, 64 small animals are living at the shelter, compared to 23 at this time in 2019, the release said. This influx has forced the shelter to repurpose areas typically used for larger animals for the small ons.
In addition to the small animals, the shelter is housing 126 cats and 151 dogs. At this time in 2019, the shelter housed 96 cats and 95 dogs, the release said.
There are about 1,500 animals at the shelter's (Dumb Friends League) three locations, which is an increase of about 400 pets compared to this time last year.
"We're sort of just playing catch up right now," said Joan Thielen, the shelter's spokeswoman.
Thielen says 300 animals are up for adoption, which is 120 more animals compared to last year.
There are many ways to help. If you have been thinking of getting a pet of any sort (DDFL has pets from horses all the way down to the size of mice), consider visiting a shelter near you and see if any pets connect with your heart strings. If you can help a shelter by fostering an animal (temporary housing), that too can help them out since animal cages are being placed in hallways or in non-visitor rooms just to try and accommodate them all. Your house would be much better than a wire cage, and you can give the animal back at the end of an agreed-upon time. No lasting commitment, but you would make a world of difference to that animal. You can also just donate time at the shelters, providing staffing to walk the pets, help the pets socialize so they improve behavior and become adoptable, and yes, pick up waste and clean out kennels, or help match visitors with potential pets.
Shelters also need supplies, like blankets, pet food, and paper towels. Most of them have websites listing how people can donate supplies and what they’re looking for. If you have old pet supplies that are still in relatively good condition, or you know someone who might have stuff to donate, please help them connect with a shelter near you. Of course, money is also always appreciated for the purchase of supplies that aren’t being donated, especially medicines and specialty items for sick or animals in need of spaying or neutering.
We currently have two kittens and Shaggy that we’re fostering, and we’re going to be keeping Shaggy (I hope). That is the main item on our agenda for the last several days and likely for the foreseeable future, though Mrs. Colotim chose fostering kittens because she enjoys kittens and enjoys the idea that she gets to give them back once they turn into hellions (her term — notice the word “lion” in it?). She talked a workman who is remodeling our bathrooms into adopting two previous kittens, and she’s working on the plumber for the current two.
Please put whatever is on your minds in the comments down below. Do you have any animals sharing your lives? Were they from a shelter or other needy situation? Do you have an interesting license plate? Or do you have anything else you’d like to share? The floor is yours...
