ROARING FORK BROADCASTING COMPANY
Krabloonik Dog Sledding owner Dan Phillips says the operation has found new homes for the large majority of its dogs.
Phillips said adopters have come forward to take in all but 25 of Krabloonik’s dogs. Phillips said Krabloonik had around 150 dogs at the beginning of the winter season. He added that roughly 75 dogs are currently living on the property, 50 of which are set to be picked up by new owners sometime this spring.
Krabloonik reached a settlement agreement with the town of Snowmass Village in July, under which the restaurant and dog sledding operation is required to wind down its activities and vacate its town-owned location by June 1. The town had sought to evict Krabloonik from the property after a committee found the business wasn’t following best practices in the treatment of its dogs, thereby violating the terms of its lease.
Phillips said the adopted dogs are going to a mix of private pet owners, sled dog kennels and animal rescue centers.
“It's going really well. We still have we still have dogs that still need some homes. We're hoping that will be adopted out locally this month,” Phillips said in an interview.
He said Krabloonik is not charging new owners for the dogs.
According to a November update Phillips sent to the town of Snowmass Village, eight “retired” dogs have been moved to a senior dog sanctuary in New Hampshire.
Phillips has written in several updates sent to the town that retired dogs have been the hardest to find new homes for. Younger “working” dogs have been easier to adopt out, he wrote in the updates, as sled dog kennels have sought them out for their operations.
“We have had a lot of interest in the working dogs but do not have set names of what dogs will go, just other kennels wanting five to 10 dogs each,” Phillips wrote in an update on April 2.
He said people interested in adopting one of the dogs can visit the @krabloonikadoptabledogs Facebook page. To adopt one of Krabloonik’s huskies, applicants will need to answer several questions about their home situations.
Phillips said in an interview that small apartments or homes without air conditioning in hot climates are not suitable. He said Krabloonik has turned away some applicants because of issues with the potential living situations.
He said he is hoping new owners arrive to pick up all the dogs with adoption arrangements and that he can find new homes for the remaining 25 dogs before Krabloonik’s move-out date. If he has any unadopted dogs remaining by June, he said he may have to ask the town of Snowmass Village for more time.
Snowmass Village Town Manager Clint Kinney said he had not yet discussed any ideas for an extension with Phillips, and that he believes Krabloonik is on track to adopt out all the dogs before its move-out date. He said the town would consider the terms of the settlement agreement before considering any kind of extension. Kinney said the well-being of the dogs remains the town’s highest priority.
Leigh Vogel, a member of the Voices for the Krabloonik Dogs group that helped spur an examination of the company’s practices, said on Monday she hopes the dogs going to other sled dog operations do not end up in the same situations they experienced at Krabloonik. Vogel said the dogs may find worse conditions at mushing operations in states with weaker animal rights regulations than Colorado’s.
“My biggest concern is that there are dogs going to sled dog operations that have even less oversight than what Colorado mandates,” Vogel said.
Phillips did not specify the locations or names of the sled dog kennels adopting Krabloonik huskies.
Vogel said the primary animal welfare concerns at sled dog operations are medical care, the amount of time when the dogs are allowed to roam without tethers and adequate shelter.
Phillips bought Krabloonik, which includes a fine-dining restaurant, from Dan MacEachen in 2014. MacEachen opened the business in 1976 at 4250 Divide Road near the Campground section of Snowmass Ski Area, where it has remained ever since.
Animal activists and whistle-blowing employees have called out Krabloonik for its treatment of huskies over its decades of operation. A best practices review committee formed in 2015 was charged with designing policies Krabloonik was required to follow to stay in compliance with its lease.
Krabloonik’s ownership, through court pleadings, has argued that activists were pressuring the town to evict the business on unwarranted allegations.
Phillips said one of the reasons he chose to settle with the town, rather than fighting eviction proceedings in court, was that Krabloonik may have had only 10 days to vacate the property if it lost a lawsuit. The settlement provided the company with a full year to find new homes for the dogs.