By Renee Krejci

Boulder considering indoor cat ordinance

If a member of Boulder’s Open Space Board of Trustees has his way, Whiskers will have to spend his days indoors. Trustee Bruce Bland thinks Boulder should join several other U.S. cities that require domestic cats be kept inside. Experts say cats kill millions of birds and billions of rabbits, squirrels, and other small mammals every year and Bland says many of the animals are suffering from the presence of cats.

In 1994, Aurora passed a “cat-at-large” ordinance, which requires cats to remain on their guardian’s property. The initial purpose of the law was to keep cats safe, but wildlife protection has been an added benefit.

Bland’s term on the Open Space Board expired at the end of March, but members of the City Council have expressed interest in exploring the matter further.

Larimer Humane hosts 5K

Tired of the same old boring Saturday morning? Bring Fido down to Edora Park in Fort Collins on Saturday, May 10, for the Larimer Humane Society’s 18th Annual Fire Hydrant 5. People and their pets can compete in the 5K race or enjoy the 3K walk and pet fair. Registration begins at 7:30 a.m., and the 5K race starts at 8:30 a.m., followed by the 3K Walk and Fun Run at 9:30 a.m. From 8:30 a.m. to noon, visitors can hit the pet fair and watch Loveland Police Department K-9 and Rocky Mountain Flyball team demonstrations, snap a keepsake photo, take home a fun souvenir, and more. An adoption fair will also take place. Registration for the adult 5K or 3K is $25; youth registration is $20, and dog registration is $5.

For more information and to register, visit LarimerHumane.org
or call (970) 226-3647.

Group wants to ban prairie dogs as target practice

The Colorado Wildlife Commission has accepted a petition from conservation group WildEarth Guardians, to ban the use of prairie dogs as target practice
for amusement.

Various violent videos have showed up online, with segments such as “Maximum Carnage” and “The Prairie Dog Olympics.” One site boasts that its video contains “hundreds of graphic kills,” including four prairie dogs killed with one shot. Such videos may make people glorify the killing of animals, something WildEarth Guardians doesn’t condone.

The commission has not committed to banning such practices yet, but agreed to discuss it further and draft possible regulations.

Man claims dogs were seized illegally

On Feb. 15, Littleton resident Bob Attelson was at the Plum Creek All Breed Show in Denver, where his English Setters, Pig and Jo, won Best Brace in Show. But while he was away, eight of his other dogs at his two homes were having a much less pleasant experience.

According to his website, AttlesonDogDefense.com, officials from the city of Littleton broke into his home and seized his dogs, citing a court order that they were being abused. Attleson, founder of All Setter Rescue, has insisted that abuse charges have never been filed.

According to his website, he has been to court several times for exceeding the city’s three-dog limit, but he argues that his foster and show dogs are all well cared for. In an email sent to area animal advocates, Attleson wrote that his priority was to get his dogs back. At a pre-hearing negotiation, he agreed to three years deferred jail time, up to $3,000 in fines, the cost of boarding for the dogs, and unannounced access to his two houses. Attleson is currently living in Strasburg because he is not allowed to have a dog within the Littleton city limits. He has his dogs back, but has spent more than $150,000 on his defense and legal costs.

According to Attleson’s website, there will be more court hearings and appeals. To read more of Attleson’s side of the story or to donate to the Attlelson Defense Fund, visit AttlesonDogDefense.com.

Veterinarian communication training program comes to CSU

Being a veterinarian is no easy profession, from the complicated surgeries to life-changing decisions, but there’s one aspect of veterinary practice many vets could improve upon—communication. Poor communication between vets and their clients can cause stress to the vet, client, and pet. Pfizer Animal Health and Colorado State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences hope to change that by offering FRANK: An Interactive Veterinarian-Client Communication Workshop.
The workshop has been taught around the country and is coming to Colorado State University on May 7 and 8 and Oct. 1 and 2. The program is based on the principle that both pet guardians and their vets should share in the decision-making process. For more information and to register, visit
CVMBS.ColoState.edu or call (970) 297-1273.

Spotlight on: Bow Wow Buddies Foundation

In 2000, Heidi Flammang opened her first Camp Bow Wow daycare and boarding facility. There are now more than 200 franchises, but Flammang did not stop there. Last year, she started the Bow Wow Buddies Foundation, a nonprofit focusing on fostering, spay and neuter efforts, canine health research, and promotion of the ethical treatment of animals around the world.

“The main reason I did it is because I’m such a huge dog lover, and I’ve always wanted to start a charity foundation with Camp Bow Wow,” Flammang explains.

Camp Bow Wow houses foster dogs in many of its camps and has adopted out approximately 2,000 dogs since it started. The Bow Wow Buddies Foundation is active in the canine health sphere and has partnered with Morris Animal Foundation’s Canine Cancer Campaign (CureCanineCancer.org). The nonprofit is also funding a research fellow at Colorado State University’s Animal Cancer Center who is researching bone cancer in dogs.

“One out of four dogs dies of canine cancer, so it’s a pretty big issue,” Flammang says.

As Flammang talks about the history of the foundation, she is on the way to the airport to pick up six dogs related to Bow Wow Buddies Foundation’s other project—Greekies. Greekies are dogs rescued from harsh conditions in Greece. Rebecca Savage, Camp Bow Wow’s in-house counsel, went on vacation to Greece and told Flammang how horrified she was by the problem of strays and how little help there was for people who wanted to do something about it. After doing some research, Flammang traveled to Greece last summer with two colleagues to learn about the conditions the animals live in firsthand. She says they initially had no intention of rescuing the canines, but ended up bringing 11 back to the U.S.

“It was this crazy covert operation,” says Flammang with a laugh. “It’s much more difficult to get a dog out of Greece than it is to get them into the U.S. actually. They’re horribly protective of their animals; their culture is ‘born Greek, die Greek.’ They don’t want foreigners involved. It was pretty challenging.”

Flammang says that she and her team are repeatedly asked the same question: Why bring dogs over from Greece when there are so many dogs here who need help? “It’s really not so much to bring as many dogs back as we can, but to raise awareness of the issue,” Flammang explains. “Dogs have it pretty good in the U.S. There are tons of great organizations that do a lot of good work here, but in other parts of the world it’s horrible, and there’s not a lot of support for people who want to try and do things. If we can figure out some tools and methods to help one area of Greece, then they can be translated to other areas, like Mexico, Puerto Rico, China, Indonesia, etc.”

Including the original 11 and the six Flammang is on her way to pick up, Bow Wow Buddies has rescued 25 dogs from Greece. “All the dogs we’ve brought over have found great homes and are doing well,” Flammang says. She says she and her colleagues have become close friends with the welfare workers in Greece and plan to make the trip again. In June, they’re inviting one of the women who helped them in Greece to the U.S. so she can see how things are run here.

For more information, visit BowWowBuddies.com or call (720) 259-2251.