ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — A building in Englewood that used to be full of puppies and volunteers is now being packed up.
"Other than spending years in court trying to fight it and keep our license and everything while still having it suspended, it was probably the best outcome in this instance," said Robert Jones, CFO of Moms and Mutts Colorado Rescue (MAMCO) of the choice to relinquish their license.
MAMCO made the decision less than a year after making headlines for a rabies exposure that ended in 11 puppies being euthanized.
Pets
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"[The pediatrician] said, 'You wouldn't believe this. Another family adopted a rabid dog.' [Katie was] like, 'Yeah, that was our family.' [The pediatrician was] like, 'No, it happened again,'" said Drew, whose family adopted a 10-week old puppy from MAMCO in 2020, who also had rabies.
Drew and his wife Katie requested Denver7 not use the family's last name out of fear of retaliation for sharing their story.
"You give your kids a puppy with the most deadly disease on earth. It makes you feel like a pretty terrible mom," Katie said of the experience.
In the end, the head of the Department of Agriculture's Pet Animal Care and Facilities Program, PACFA, said a series of violations and complaints against the rescue led to MAMCO's license being seized.
"It takes quite a bit for us to get to this point, we do use a system of progressive discipline which we applied in this case," said Nick Fisher, Head of PACFA. "They decided to relinquish their license rather than go to a revocation hearing."
Jones maintained any of the reported violations were false.
"It wasn't an escalating series, it was just them not following through and giving us time to complete what needed to be done," said Jones.
He said MAMCO will be donating the pet supplies they can to other rescues and selling the rest as they close down shop in Colorado.
"We also have rescue and nonprofit work that we do down in Belize," he said.
Meanwhile, a proposed statewide rule change prompted by the MAMCO rabies exposure is making its way through the system.
State
Major changes proposed for Colorado pet rescues after local rabies exposure
The new rule prohibits pets being brought into the state unless they've been vaccinated for rabies, a vaccine that dogs have to wait until they're at least 12 weeks old to receive.
"There's an exemption provision now," explained Fisher. "Some of the examples are that you've been licensed for two years, that your license is in good standing, that you don't have any disciplinary issues pending with us."
It would also require those rescues to create a disease prevention plan. PACFA said, if approved, they hope the new rule strikes a balance between Colorado animals rescues who want to help with overpopulation of pets in other states, while also protecting families in Colorado.
The next public hearing for that proposed rule change is on April 24.
