Colorado dog lover marshals animal welfare community to save four-legged friends

The high cost of living in Colorado is impacting not only families but their beloved pets.

Dog surrenders are up and adoptions are down at shelters across the state and the cost of pet care is one of the many reasons.    

According to the National Canine Advocacy Group, about 55,000 dogs were brought into Colorado shelters last year -- nearly 20,000 of them were surrendered by their owners. Not only are shelters taking in more dogs, but they're also putting down more dogs; 5,000 dogs were euthanized last year in Colorado. While many shelters have "no-kill" policies, they don't cover dogs that are unhealthy or unsafe.

Elizabeth Coalson, founder of the nonprofit National Canine Advocacy Group, says many of the dogs that were euthanized had behavioral problems that started when they were puppies and became worse when they entered shelters that were overcrowded and understaffed.

"They're not necessarily euthanized because they're not perfect dogs," she said. "It's because the shelter doesn't have the resources to work with the dogs to make them adoptable. The shelters don't have a lot of options in terms of how to manage that population."

Colorado's largest shelter -- Dumb Friends League -- began limiting dog admissions last month, while Riverdale in Adams County isn't taking any owner surrenders until at least Aug. 10.

As shelters try to incentivize adoptions, Coalson is trying to prevent dogs from ending up here in the first place: "There's no happiness in surrendering a dog."

She's partnered with Denver Animal Shelter to provide 6 weeks of free puppy training to anyone who adopts a dog that's 1 year old or younger from the shelter.

"The goal is to teach rules and boundaries and expectations for our dogs so that they know what it is we want from them. It's very much like with children," she said. "When you want to have children that have manners and are well-behaved, there are things you teach them."  

And she says failure isn't an option, "because we're not just failing our own dogs, we're failing the dogs that also don't make it out of the shelter."

Coalson has mobilized an army of animal welfare advocates to provide reinforcement for dog owners.

"We know there are financial strains," she said.

She compiled a list of low and no-cost resources including veterinary care, temporary housing, and free food on her website.

"When there are things that a person can do, it empowers them to keep their dog."    

She also created the Facebook group "Sit, Stay, Home," where more than a dozen dog trainers offer discounted behavioral support services, and she's partnered with another nonprofit, Pawsitive Pathways, to rehabilitate shelter dogs and find them homes, 'It's a community problem. As silly as it may sound, it takes a village and the village is, we're also doing the best we can." 

Coalson is also on a mission to end the trafficking of dogs. Over the last three years, she says, the state's ten largest rescue organizations imported nearly 30,000 dogs from out of state, while thousands of dogs in Colorado shelters waited to be rescued. If you're looking to adopt, all dogs 1 year and up are just $25 to adopt this month at Denver Animal Shelter.