Woman Faces $1,000 Fine For Pink Poodle
Dog Dyed To Help Raise Awareness For Breast Cancer
POSTED: Tuesday, March 11, 2008
BOULDER, Colo. -- A Boulder woman said she will fight a $1,000 fine she was given for dyeing her miniature poodle pink.Joy Douglas she dyed Cici pink to help raise awareness for breast cancer. The salon owner said she has used beet juice -- and occasionally Kool-Aid -- for four years now to "stain" her dog.Officials at the Humane Society of Boulder Valley told the Daily Camera Douglas was warned several times before she was issued the ticket on March 1.Douglas is accused of violating the city's code, which says, "No person shall dye or color live fowl, rabbits, or any other animals." It is meant to keep people from dyeing rabbits and chicks at Easter."I can understand something done in large vats and it's not done with a lot of animal care by people who don't know their animals," Douglas told Denver television station KMGH. "But I have a personal connection to my animal. I would never hurt my animal. I have a business full of little beautiful animals that are treasures for not only myself, but the community."Douglas is scheduled to appear in court on Tuesday. She said she plans to fight the ticket, claiming her dog is helping to raise awareness for an important issue."Cici is being stripped of her civic duty," Douglas said. "And I don't plan to take it sitting down."Cici is actually the second dog Douglas has dyed pink.Douglas first dyed her white poodle Lulu four years ago when the dog accompanied her to a haircutting fundraiser for breast cancer research.The hairstylist said people would bring "fistfuls of cash" just to pet the dog, so she kept up the dye job. She only used organic products, and said she has even worked with an organic pet company on developing safe dyes for pets.When Lulu died just over a year ago, Douglas found Cici and immediately began coloring the new poodle's hair as well.The night before her court hearing, Douglas told the station she plans to put the attention she has received from getting the ticket to good use by raising money for breast cancer research."With every big gathering of people, there's a lot of ears and one voice that can be heard at a time," she said. "So I'm going to use my voice to raise as much funds and make as much good come out of this unfortunate incident."
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