Some pet facilities worry new Colorado bill on disease notifications could jeopardize business

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – Colorado lawmakers are considering a bill that would require pet facilities to “make every reasonable attempt” to report suspected infectious disease outbreaks to business patrons.

Sponsors of the bill say the goal is to protect pets from outbreaks like the respiratory illness that spread among dogs in the fall of 2023. However, owners of pet facilities believe this legislation is too vague and overreaching.

“As a small business owner, any kind of a bill that creates an impact which would be both physically and manpower intensive, it creates a bit of a panic,” said Janet Huffor, the owner of Stubby’s Grooming Salon.

Huffor said widespread panic over the respiratory illness this past fall hurt her business dramatically, as pet owners feared taking their animals to grooming salons and boarding businesses.

She said she’s worried this bill will create undue panic like that among customers on a regular basis.

According to the bill’s text, pet facilities must “make every reasonable attempt to notify all pet owners” of an infectious disease outbreak within 24 hours of learning of the suspected outbreak from a veterinarian or a pet owner.

“I find it absolutely absurd that an owner of a pet can tell me as the business owner that I have an infectious disease outbreak in my facility,” said Huffor.

Huffor said Stubby’s is licensed under PACFA, the Pet Animals Care and Facilities Act, and is overseen by the program to ensure they are operating safely. She said she doesn’t understand why these guidelines would be coming down from the state and not through them directly.

“This is something that surely should fall underneath PACFA and their guidelines, and giving them the ability to regulate and or shut down businesses that are not running their business ethically,” said Huffor. “This is not something that should be mandated for every single groom shop and boarding facility throughout the state of Colorado to take on this kind of jump to be contacting all of their clients and causing panic.”

Democratic Representative Leslie Herod is a sponsor of this bill, and she told KRDO13 that this legislation is simple and straightforward.

She said the legislation mandates something similar to what you might see in a child daycare facility and will do a lot in preventing the potential spread of illness.

She said the bill has widespread support, and she pointed to a list of groups that have registered in support of the bill.

At this time, the Humane Society of Fremont County, the Max Fund Animal Shelter, and No Kill Colorado have registered in support.