Cheyenne's Howl

Printed in Mountain Messenger on Friday - September 19, 1997

Legislative Committee Update & Cub Scout Visit

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I was going to continue this week with my chewing on some of those reporters and others who don't really know what they are talking about, but I have decided to get off my soap box for awhile and share with you some of the things that are happening around here with me. Don't worry, I will get back to them later.

Wasn't last weekend beautiful? We had nice warm sunny weather and people were having a great time. I have now met over 4200 people and licked and played with most of them. It's a tough job, but someone has to do it so it might as well be me. I am now communicating with schools all over the country and I am really enjoying it. Students and their teachers are asking some very intelligent questions and I feel very lucky to be the one working with them. For those of you who don't know how to get a hold of me, you can look me up under www.visionswest-art.com/ and this will bring up the Gallery's home page. Click on my picture and it will bring up my home page. I now have about 500 pages off of my site. Some of the information that is connected to my page I do not agree with and in future articles I will be challenging their misinformation. In the meantime, check out my site and if you have any questions, be sure to e-mail me.

As most of you know, my Dad is on the committee that was set up by Senate Bill 97-167 to see if there is a wolf hybrid problem in Colorado. This is a group of fifteen people and they have now met four times. The opinions in this group are as varied as the people serving. Some are very anti wolf hybrid, some very pro wolf hybrid, and some are neutral in their opinions. They have listened to all kinds of experts, both pro and con. They have also invited the public to participate and have listened to their comments. In their next meeting they will begin to draft their recommendations to the legislature. Have you ever tried to get fifteen people with varying opinions to agree on anything? What I can tell you so far is that all fifteen people have agreed, first, not to ban the animals from the state. Second, that since there is no genotype or phenotype to determine what a wolf hybrid is, (in other words, there are no absolute genetic markers that separate a wolf from a wolf hybrid or from other dogs), that legislation against an animal that you can't legally identify is out of the question. And third, it appears that the animals need to be classified as domestic dogs and handled under the Dangerous Dog Act as all other dogs are and should be. This is great because so far not only are they not recommending breed specific legislation, but they have in place a law that will deal with any individual animal that may be a problem, no matter what breed it is. What could be more fair?

Before closing, I would like to say hello to all of my friends from the Gateway District of Cub Scouts in Golden, Pack 48, Den 2. They came up to see me last week and brought me all kinds of good treats to eat. I got some cantaloupe and honeydew melons and a bunch of chicken. I'm sorry it rained on us but I understand that you're coming back this weekend so you can get some good pictures with me. I look forward to seeing you all again.

Cheyenne