To express your support for breast cancer research, you can get almost anything in pink these days, from ribbons to cell phones and MP3 players. But in the People's Republic of Boulder, a woman faces a $1000 fine because her poodle sports a pink coat for breast cancer awareness:
Cici is a "breast-cancer awareness dog" that's been showing off her pink coat for three years at Zing Salon, 1100 Spruce St., said Joy Douglas, who owns both the salon and the poodle.
"Cici is being stripped of her civic duty," Douglas said. "And I don't plan to take it sitting down."
Officials at the Humane Society of Boulder Valley said Douglas was warned several times before an animal-control officer issued her a ticket on March 1 for violating the city's code, section 6-1-14: "Dyeing fowl and rabbits prohibited."
Douglas said she didn't violate that law because she uses beet juice — and occasionally Kool-Aid — to "stain" Cici's coat. She said she never has used chemicals, and her pooch never has had a reaction to the stain.
Not just any beet juice — organic beet juice, according to the TV news story I saw. This is Boulder, after all. I suspect non-organic beet juice isn't permitted within the city limits. (By the definition of "organic" I learned, all beet juice is organic. But I digress.)
Never mind that even in Boulder, you can drink beet juice and Kool-Aid (although I wouldn't swear to the latter). The city that eight years ago decided you can't have a pet, only a companion animal, thinks Joy Douglas is a danger to persons of the canine persuasion and a scofflaw:
Lisa Pedersen, chief executive officer of the Humane Society of Boulder Valley and the Animal Control and Care department, said her officers received "several calls about the animals" before they wrote the ticket.
Notice the dual role of Pederson. The Humane Society is a private, non-profit, radical animal-rights organization whose membership wants to ban the buying and selling of pets companion animals — for starters. The City of Boulder has made Pederson and some number of other Humane Society staff into city law enforcement officers, complete with uniforms, badges, and police powers (and salaries, I assume). Since it's Boulder, I suppose they don't carry sidearms. But I can't swear to it.
"There were lots of people concerned about the dog," Pedersen said.
Despite Douglas' assertions that she doesn't use chemicals, Pedersen said officers have no guarantee.
Hey, Ms. Pedersen, we have no guarantee that you're not torturing squirrels or poisoning pigeons when no one's looking. And considering the behavior of some other "animal rights" activists, the fact that you run the Humane Society isn't persuasive. Prove the negative, as you're suggesting Joy Douglas must do.
Fox31's MyFoxColorado is running a poll about this. As of 11 PM Denver time, the results are:
| $1000 fine is not enough! Throw the book at her! |
4.00% |
| This case is a waste of time, taxpayer money. |
58.50%
|
| This case proves Boulder people are insane. |
37.00% |
| This case proves Boulder people are NOT insane. |
0.50% |
Well, apparently most Fox31 viewers are sane.
NOTE: I'll refrain from commenting on the wisdom or aesthetics of making poodles pink (more pictures of Cici here), but I've seen dogs dressed in "outfits" that were more disturbing.
