By SYLVIA LOBATO
CONEJOS – Three applications for commercial dog breeding operations in the La Jara vicinity have drawn the attention of a high profile New York attorney, as well as local animal welfare advocates.
The Conejos Board of Commissioners (BOCC) will conduct hearings at 10 a.m.  Thursday, May 17, on applications submitted by Laverne and Mary Coblentz, Reuben D. Mast and Lonnie Yoder.
 According to Susan Chana Lask, a high profile New York attorney who is also an expert in puppy mills, Each of the applications omits basic information such as how many male and female dogs will be harbored and how many times a female dog will be bred, as well as the structure and insulation of the housing for the dogs.
Basic information regarding the amount of water used and how waste and wastewater would be disposed are included but appear incomplete.
Colorado’s statutory Pet Animal Care and Facilities Act (PACFA) responded to the national trend against puppy mills by setting high standards of care for dogs, but the applications appear to have been ignored by the Conejos County applications.
 “The Conejos County Board has done a disservice to its residents by allowing these deliberately misleading applications to get past their desks when the health and welfare of their residents and the animals are at risk,” says a letter Lask wrote to the BOCC.
 According to Lask, “the Coblentz application actually says dog waste will be spread on the pasture. However, the USDA found that one dog produces 274 pounds of waste a year that pollutes the ground and surface water that can only be contained by using a proper composting facility. “
“Although the Conejos County website states that ‘…water is the lifeblood of the community.'  In addition to the Rio Grande, the county is traversed by the Conejos, Alamosa and San Antonio Rivers and La Jara Creek, as well as hundreds of irrigation ditches that bring water to our fields,’  the county board ignores its own statements by permitting the applicants to spread dog feces on the soil. That permits the spread of disease-causing organisms transmitted from dogs to humans such as tapeworms, hookworms, cryptosporidium and Giardia.  Hookworms, for instance, ‘…can develop into infective stage larvae in the soil in as few as 5 days,’ according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”).
The applications also allegedly violate the Conejos County Land Use Code by omitting an Impact Analysis that would provide for waste disposal and omits the amount of water to be used for the dogs despite the application requesting that information.
Lask observes that permitting these breeders is at odds with the nationwide trend opposing Puppy Mills. California, Maryland and Rhode Island recently passed laws banning puppy mill dog sales in pet stores. More than 240 localities nationwide passed the same law, including Mamaroneck, NY, Miami and Chicago.