This was originally posted at mariahspromise.petfinder.com by Toni Phillips and re-posted here by permission.It has been rumored that Mariah's Promise is closing - we are not!! We are downsizing and looking for property in Park County due to the battle we have had with conspiring neighbors since we began taking FAMILY PETS and puppies when the ban was reinflicted on Denver citizens and their dogs in May, 2005. Mike & I already had 14 bully's or mixes at Mariah's Promise and just couldn't IMAGINE how we would feel if someone knocked on our door and said your dog must go - or be killed!! That's why we opened Mariah's Promise to help those dogs and their people. Actually, we started taking dogs in February because some suspected Denver would win in civil court their right of 'home rule' to have Breed Specific Legislation (BSL which results in a breed being banned) after Govenor Owens signed a bill stating that Colorado could NOT ban a breed, and these people began releasing dogs to Max Fund in Denver left & right or dumping them on the streets.
The neighbors read of what we were doing because of an excellent article in the Colorado Springs Gazette by Bill Radford in September, 2005. It wasn't like we were a covert operation - every major news media was here to cover Denver's exiled dogs (CNN, AP, ABC, NBC, CBS, Rocky Mountain News, KRDO, Denver's W-2, LA Times, etc).
In the prior two years of operating Mariah's Promise, we didn't have one complaint. At the end of September 2005, Teller County's new ordinance was implemented and the barking dog ordinance changed from two households complaining to only one, the neighbors just bombarded us. Please note - the subdivision across the road has approximately 45 houses and we very often hear dogs barking in the distance while ours are quiet. Because donations dwindled significantly since Katrina in 2005, it has taken everything we have to keep going and has taken it's toll on our personal finances. In October, 2006, we were court-ordered to reduced our dogs from 85 to 50, which includes our personal dogs and have stayed at 50 since that time. Realize, this tied our hands to help not only Denver dogs, but Hospice, and Victim's Assistance and others that needed help!!
We sold the 40-acre parcel - it was sell it or lose it. While the buyer was tasked with doing the survey prior to closing, they chose not to. The survey was done two weeks after closing and at that time we discovered that we have what's called a 'clouded title' and an encumberance on the 40-acre parcel. A volley of letters between our attorney and the buyer's have proved fruitless - we are asking to buy back the property that surrounds the house (like our kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, septic tank ...). Having a 'clouded title' prevented us from refinancing to comply with the court order that we have a shelter building up by the end of July, 2007. Because we couldn't comply with the court order, the next thing was that I was court-ordered to vacate our home (not my husband Mike, just me) with all the dogs (including our personal dogs) by 10/31/07. For some reason, that just didn't set well with Mike and he searched for a new attorney. Finding one, he reviewed the case and had serious concerns about the way the order was written, so he entered a motion to 'set aside' the previous order and a new hearing is set for 11/23/07. In the meantime, we have also retained a second new attorney to handle the title issue on the current property. (We have been supporting attorneys here lately in addition to the operating costs of Mariah's Promise).
We do not know what the future holds, but trust God that His Will be done for Mariah's Promise. I believe with all my heart that this will be a blessing in disguise ... a PHOENIX RISING!! We appreciate everyone's concern and will keep you posted on our updated website
www.mariahspromise.com Thank you!!
Posted by Justice MorathThe photo is of Caleb who is available for adoption at Mariah's Promise