Unbelievable. Put this is the “only in Boulder” file:
The Boulder salon owner facing a $1,000 fine for dyeing her miniature poodle pink will have to wait for her day in court.
… Joy Douglas, owner of Zing Salon… appeared before a judge in Boulder Municipal Court and asked for her hearing to be rescheduled because she’s retained a defense attorney.
The judge granted Douglas’ request and reset her hearing for April 7.
Officials at the Humane Society of Boulder Valley issued Douglas a ticket on March 1 for violating Section 6-1-14 of Boulder’s city code, titled “Dyeing fowl and rabbits prohibited.”
Douglas has insisted she didn’t break that law, because she uses beet juice — and occasionally Kool-Aid — to “stain” her dog Cici’s coat. She said she never has used chemicals, and her pooch never has had a reaction to the stain. …
She also reiterated her claim that she dyed the dog pink to support breast cancer awareness.
Is this some sort of elaborate practical joke? Apparently not. Here is the code in question:
6-1-14 Dyeing Fowl and Rabbits Prohibited; Selling Dogs, Cats, and Fowl Limited.
(a) No person shall dye or color live fowl, rabbits, or any other animals or have in possession, display, sell, or give away such dyed or colored animals.
This reminds me of the colorful horses in the Wizard of Oz — except that Oz makes a hell of lot more sense than Boulder policies.
The Denver Post adds:
Not everyone who saw pink Cici was pleased, and some customers called the Humane Society of Boulder Valley, whose commissioned officers enforce the city’s animal ordinances. …
“We’ve received a number of complaints about the dog,” said Lisa Pedersen, director of the humane society. “We’ve been out to talk with Joy several times. Finally, we gave her a ticket to let the courts decide the issue.”
“This is a misrepresentation of what animal control is supposed to be,” said Douglas, who drives a pink scooter, a pink car and now is looking for a lawyer to represent her and her pink dog. “This doesn’t hurt Cici at all. We color her about once a week to keep it bright. She’s fine.”
Pedersen agreed that the dog appears to be well-cared for, except that she’s pink.
So then why doesn’t Pedersen — and the other intolerant asses in Boulder who registered the complaints — mind their own damned business?