Turning dogs pink?
I know today’s post should be about something GREEN, but a woman here in CO recently got in trouble for turning her poodle pink. The Boulder Valley Humane Society, where we adopted Lilly, received calls of concern about the pink dog. They made a site visit and delivered a warning. When investigators returned a month or so later, the white poodle was still pink. They issued a $1,000 fine. The case is going to court.
And, it’s getting quite a bit of media attention here. Here is one link. If you want to read more, just Google “pink poodle Boulder.”
The animal dying laws in Boulder (city ordinance 6-1-14) stem from protecting Easter animals, like baby chicks or bunnies from being dyed colors for the holiday. However, the ordinance language includes “any other animals.”
I’ve seen some he said, she said, type interviews on local TV about what exactly is used to create the color on the pink poodle. Former employees at the woman’s hair salon dispute her assertions about beet juice. So, who knows?
Personally, I’m anti-hair dye of any kind. From what I’ve seen, it’s a beauty industry trap, where people get suckered into changing their hair color once and then get stuck keeping it up (at quite an expense) because letting it go back to normal is a long, sometimes unattractive process. I’m too frugal, I guess, for that. Plus, in our I-hate-myself culture, I guess it’s politically incorrect to say that I actually like my hair color, even with the gray creeping in.
So, suffice it to say, I’d never dye my dogs either.
Once, when we first adopted Lilly, she nipped Ginko in the nose and caused a bad skin infection. Our veterinarian told us to keep it clean with peroxide, which did turn Ginko’s black/brown hair redish, but that’s the extent of it.
It’s an interesting debate, apparently tied to Breast Cancer Awareness. But, if that’s the case … why not just get a cute pink T-shirt or something?