LOCAL STORY instance the mandate takes place is if a healthy or treatable animal is three days away from being euthanized, and other attempts to transfer or adopt out the animal have not worked,” said Smith. Other shelters opted out of supporting the act because of its association with “no-kill.” “There is a risk with being on board with ‘no-kill.’ In Colorado, the large, well-funded shelters are anti-no-kill. If you come out against them, they will oppose you, and it can affect the way [your shelter] performs in the state. So, a lot of rescues don’t [come out against them], especially the little ones. They are afraid to stand up to the well-funded shelters since they could lose their support, even if they do not agree with everything they do,” said Smith. Doug Rae, executive director of the Humane Society of Fremont County (HSFC) and supporter of the Colorado Rescue Act, has maintained one of the highest save rates in the country for the last decade. He has accomplished this despite being an underfunded open-admission shelter, meaning they must admit every stray and/or surrendered animal from within its jurisdiction, in an underserved community. When Rae arrived at HSFC in 2013, the shelter was killing 30% of dogs and 50% of cats. For the past decade since his arrival, they have had a save rate of 97% or higher. His business model is simple: “Treat every animal like it is family.” “People say it can’t be done. People tell me it is not a smart business model to save every animal. Yet here we are, doing it, and running successfully,” said Rae. One of these animals is Cashew, who is the longest resident at Fremont. Cashew had two rear-leg ACL tears when he arrived at Fremont. At many shelters, this would have deemed him untreatable and at risk of being euthanized. Fremont looked beyond the limp and instead saw his tail wag. The shelter spent $6,310 to repair his ACLs in the hopes he would be adopted. The Fremont team shared a bittersweet farewell in 2023, when, after 511 days in the shelter system, Cashew went to his forever home. “People can call it no-kill, social conscious sheltering, or anything else they want. My team would call it an extra special effort for a dog that needed our help, and we gladly gave it to him — no matter how much it cost or how long it took to get him adopted,” said Rae. The Colorado Rescue Act was modeled after legislation in other states, like California, where they passed the Hayden Law, and Texas, where the Austin City Council passed a set of comprehensive laws to meet a 95% live release rate, and surpassed that goal with a 97% live release rate. Both states also have succeeded in collaboration among shelters while mitigating overcrowding, limited resources, and a shortage of veterinarians. Kathy Gaines, executive director at Maxfund Animal Adoption Center — the largest no-kill shelter in Colorado — explained that Colorado shelters work in silos. This often causes Maxfund to fill open kennels with animals imported from out of state instead of taking local animals who otherwise might be euthanized. “We do have open kennels sometimes. It is just monumentally easier to look for animals to import from out of state because shelters in Colorado that are overcrowded are not required to communicate to licensed shelters and rescues here in Colorado, even when they are healthy and treatable pets that are going to be euthanized for space,” Gaines said. “The Colorado Rescue Act was an attempt to require that shelters and rescues work together more in Colorado to make it easier to pull those animals right here where we live.” Smith says that Colorado’s ability to successfully move out-of-state animals through the shelter system represents an opportunity to save all animals within the state while still helping neighboring states. “Colorado does over 100,000 adoptions each year. When we are bringing in 30,000 to 40,000 animals per year from outside states, we should be able to save every animal here, as well. It is very important to realize we have more adopters than we need in Colorado to save every healthy or treatable pet,” said Smith. According to PACFA, Colorado imported 35,991 cats and dogs in 2022. Despite the Colorado Rescue Act’s rejection, efforts to get the bill passed and work toward saving every healthy animal in Colorado are not losing momentum. Gaines explained that the SARA team is strategizing on the next steps and gearing up for next year’s legislative session. “It seems like we all should be working together on this common problem. No part of me thinks anybody wants to be euthanizing animals that are healthy and treatable. If I had my dream, we would get past the transparency issues, the anxieties that surround that, and just be actively promoting a better way of communicating with each other,” said Gaines. The Colorado Rescue Act team is looking for more bill sponsors and encourages the Colorado community to get involved. To read more about the bill and learn how to get involved, visit nokillcolorado.org/colorado-rescue-act. For those interested in helping support No Kill Colorado, Maxfund, and Fremont County Animal Shelter, visit nokillcolorado.org, maxfund.org, and fremonthumance.com to donate and view volunteer and fundraising opportunities. ■ VOLUNTEER WITH US! We are looking for volunteers to help with paper distribution and basic offi ce administration at the Denver VOICE offi ce (989 Santa Fe. Dr.), as well as event support. If you are interested and would like to know more, contact us at program@denvervoice.org. DOG AT THE MAXFUND ANIMAL ADOPTION CENTER. COURTESY OF MAXFUND ANIMAL ADOPTION CENTER. May 2024 DENVER VOICE 11 DONATE YOUR CAR! Need to get rid of your car, truck, or motorcycle? Consider donating it to Denver VOICE. 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