DENVER — A bill making its way through the state legislature aims to make sure no one has to choose between staying with their pet, or having a roof over their head.
HB25-1207 would reduce barriers to pet-inclusive housing by mandating housing providers who get state subsidies to allow pets. It would also keep insurance companies from adding breed restrictions.
Hear how this would impact animal shelter efforts as well, in the video player below:
"Colorado is very pet friendly, but unfortunately, the reality of that is that it's pet friendly for folks with higher incomes and not necessarily lower incomes," Sabrina Pacha, legislative director for the Mountain West Region for the ASCPA, said. "The ASPCA believes that your income or your socioeconomic status should not dictate whether or not you're able to have a pet."
That's why she said this bill is about trying to level the playing field and help the ripple effect they're seeing at animal shelters.
When people have to decide between a home or a pet, more pets are going to shelters.
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"We have the support of the Animal Welfare Association of Colorado, which is a group of shelters across the state, because they know they see firsthand that folks are coming in and surrendering their pets because of housing challenges and not being able to find pet friendly housing," Pacha said. "So they know that this kind of creating a baseline of pet friendly policies across the state will really help to alleviate the pressure and capacity issues that shelters are seeing right now because folks don't want to surrender their animals." said.
According to the Colorado Secretary of State's website, the bill does not list any opposing groups.
However, Pacha said there are certainly things to work through, like concern from some housing providers and landlords — that pets aren't always the best for the health and safety of the rest of the tenants.
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