8 MAY 29-JUNE 4, 2025 westword.com WESTWORD | MUSIC | CAFE | CULTURE | NIGHT+DAY | NEWS | LETTERS | CONTENTS | “Generally, it is because the animal is old and sick, and they can’t afford vet care,” Sobel says. “The animals need to be in pain, suffering or have a severe, severe behavioral issue where the public is at risk.” Rising costs of vet care exacerbate an increasingly challenging economic climate. Some surrendering owners can’t afford housing that allows them to have a pet, Sobel says. For renters, pet deposits and monthly fees add up quickly; if they are priced out of their apartment, the next building may not accept their furry friend, particularly large dogs (this year’s most commonly sur- rendered dogs are chihuahuas, labradors and huskies). The trend is not exclusive to dogs, how- ever. Including all animals such as cats, birds and livestock, year-to-date owner surrenders at the Denver Animal Shelter are up 241 percent from 2019 and 24 percent from 2024. Surrenders for euthanasia are up 210 percent from 2019 and 4 percent from 2024. The issue also isn’t unique to Denver; shelters throughout the state and country are facing similar problems. But the Denver Animal Shelter takes the brunt here because of its less-common operating practices, So- bel says. The Denver Animal Shelter is open ad- mission, meaning it takes every animal that arrives at its door, while other shelters may turn away, waitlist or charge fees for owners surrendering animals. The shelter also has night drop-off kennels, offering a way to surrender animals after hours. Last week, it took in twenty animals from the kennels in one night, Sobel says. Despite the increase in surrenders, the shelter is turning out more animals than it is taking in, whether via adoption, returning lost pets or transferring animals to other facilities, such as to receive specialized medi- cal treatment. “We’ve been able to manage the increase effectively,” Sobel says. “Our intake is up, our strays are up, everything is up. But we’ve had adoption specials every single month since I started [in August 2022]. That’s helped because our adoptions are way up. We have a really good return to owner rate, as well.” The shelter is also taking steps to address the issue at its root. It provides spay and neuter care at low cost and sometimes for free. Its recent Pay to Spay program used a private $25,000 donation to spay/neuter pit bulls for free and to give owners $100 grocery gift cards to incentivize participation. Denver Animal Protection has a tem- porary housing program providing free pet care for owners experiencing crises like hospitalization, domestic violence or a house fi re. The agency regularly offers free spay/neuter, microchips and vaccines for underserved, marginalized communities, including homeless pet owners. For individuals who want to help slow surrenders, Sobel offers this advice: look into support services for struggling pet own- ers; adopt instead of buying from breeders or pet stores; make sure pets are tagged, microchipped and registered; and prevent behavioral issues by properly training dogs using “science-based positive reinforce- ment” instead of fear, intimidation and force. Above all, she says the “key” to address- ing the issue is what Bob Barker told us for decades: “Help control the pet population. Have your pet spayed or neutered.” Poop City LOOK OUT BELOW! EVIDENCE OF DENVER’S DOG POPULATION IS OMNIPRESENT IN PARKS AND ON SIDEWALKS. BY THOMAS MITC HELL Wearing white shoes in Denver is a danger- ous game, full of brown, squishy land mines. Cole Haans, Nikes, Vans, fl ip fl ops and my bare-ass feet have all felt the ick of smushing dog poop beneath them, and you don’t have to venture into the grass to experience this. Denver is a city of turds, physically and metaphorically. With an estimated 158,000- plus dogs in the city, that’s anywhere from 28.8 to 43.3 million pounds of dog poop in Denver per year, depending on the size of the dump. And a buttload of it is displayed on our public sidewalks, in planters and parks, and, sometimes, right in front of your door. It’s not a dog’s fault when a human doesn’t pick up after it — we all gotta go at some point — but why does Denver seem to have such a big fecal problem? Although it’s not the clearest issue to track, there are several bits of evidence supporting our gripe, some of which were recently unearthed on a recent City Cast Denver episode. Producer Olivia Love told listeners that their call-out for dog poop stories was “perhaps the most you’ve every responded to anything in the history of this show,” and the feedback displayed a long list of theories ranging from post-COVID societal erosion to poor park planning. According to data from Denver’s 311 city services line, there have never been more than 555 complaints recorded over dog poop in a single year, with just under 370 logged last year. But open your third eye (or get a dog), and you’ll start noticing a lot more number twos while walking around Den- ver, especially in dense neighborhoods like Capitol Hill, the Golden Triangle and Five Points, which includes the RiNo Art District. I didn’t open my turd eye until getting a dog — and, full disclosure, this little low-IQ hobgoblin wants to nibble on every piece of shit she comes across. This is totally a “me” problem that I’m still trying to train out of my foul-mouthed angel, but it’s taught me a few things about dog poop, and Denver: 1) Dried white dog poop is no longer a thing (believe me, it was twenty years ago). 2) March, when most of the snow melts, is the leading month in average dog poop complaints, according to 311 data. 3) Outsiders notice it, too. City Cast co-founder and CEO David Plotz told Denver podcast executive pro- ducer Paul Karolyi that walking the streets of RiNo in March reminded him of visits to Paris, but not in a good way. “It’s dangerous walking through the streets, at least in that part of Denver, be- cause there’s an immense amount of dog shit around. Immense,” he said. “Why can Denver not manage this basic function?” There are a handful of poop pickup ser- vices in Denver, including Doody Calls, Pet Scoop and Poop 911, and one service, Poo- Prints, a Tennessee-based company, that partners with multi-family housing build- ings across the country, forcing residents to register their dog’s DNA into a library. If poop found on the property matches a dog in the library, then the owner could be fi ned or reprimanded. Or, how about we just do what we all promised our parents, and pick up after our dogs? Denver parks have waste bins and bag dispensers for dog poop, and the city can fi ne dog owners $150 for failing to do their dog duty(and $250 for the second time, and $500 after that). There are also signs across Denver parks reminding visitors to pick up after their pets. But outside of a 2021 blog post from Denver Parks & Recreation and the city Department of Public Health& Environ- ment, public education has been minimal. Perhaps that’s because the city doesn’t think Denver has much of a dog poop prob- lem — at least, not more than any other place. “I would not say Denver is any worse than any other area of the United States for pet waste and issues picking up. Most people are great about it, and there are some problem parks, neighborhoods, residences,” says Denver Animal Protection lieutenant Josh Rolfe, who believes that “most people do it, particularly if it is convenient to do so.” But is it convenient enough? One City Cast listener mentioned that some parks have bag dispensers and waste bins located at opposite ends from each other, and another mentioned Colorado’s ban on plastic bags as reasons why more people may be letting their dogs spraypaint the sidewalk. One caller said that when he called out a man for not picking up after his dog, the guy became verbally aggressive and refused to do so. According to Denver Parks & Recreation, rangers have discretion to cite individuals for not having their dogs leashed or failing to clean up after them. However, rangers “are responsible for the parks and simply clean up when there’s poop,” a department spokesperson says, and often “lead with education.” “Usually, the fi rst interaction is to explain these rules,” the spokesperson adds. As I walk home with more skidmarks on my soles. If you see a non-poop-picker-upper, call them out. Shame them. Let the heavens know: this disgusting Gone to the Dogs? continued from page 6 The number of dogs surrendered to the Denver Animal Shelter has increased every year since 2021. A warning sign and bag dispenser for dog poop at Governor’s Park in Capitol Hill. EVAN SEMÓN THOMAS MITCHELL continued on page 10
