For those who want to make this about politics, I’m not a Democrat. He’s done some remarkable things for Colorado over the past three years and he’s just warming up. I won’t refute the allegation that I resigned to ensure our great governor gets reelected.
There’s a lot of conjecture about the reasons behind my resignation, but since nobody bothered to ask me - the person at the center of all this controversy - the media ran wild with sensationalist theories. But never about farm animals - never about ‘livestock’. And so, I remained on the board, reading thousands of pages of cases every other month, mostly about dogs and cats, but occasionally about a parrot, a horse or a snake.
I was taught as a young child to always stand up for what I believed in, even if everyone else disagreed. I could have resigned from the board immediately after the first volleys nearly two years ago, but I wasn’t born in rural New York City for nothing. Now that I’m gone, they’ll be looking for someone else to blame. But don’t mistake what happened for an isolated incident. But ranchers and cattlemen and some state legislators had a bug up their you-know-what, and they needed a punching bag to take out all their self-righteous anger over being marginalized, their made-up rural/urban divide narrative, and ‘boo hoo, nobody appreciates me.’ This time, that punching bag happened to be me. So did the Colorado Veterinary Medical Association.
I never expected the blowback my appointment would cause, especially since I was only one of seven votes, and because the board did NOT hear cases about “livestock.” But don’t take my word for it - a rural reporter researched and confirmed the truth. It bothered me that the petition started by my most ardent follower - Rachel Gabel, assistant editor of The Fence Post fame - garnered nearly 25,000 signatures. Certainly, I’m not the first person with a personal opinion to be appointed to serve on an official board.Īt first, the attacks did bother me. These are my beliefs, and I expressed them always in my personal capacity … never as a representative of state government, the Polis Administration, or the veterinary board. I don’t deny it but I also won’t disavow it. Yes, I shared activism on Facebook, including my beliefs about 4H, artificial insemination and wolf attacks on cattle. Even though I was never interviewed by the media, reporters wrote stories fraught with lies and misinformation because, apparently, that’s what sells. I was called a radical, an extremist, a terrorist, stupid, unqualified, and every nasty four-letter word in the book. The attacks from ranchers, cattlemen, and legislators were immediate and relentless. I had no idea that I would be catapulted into the spotlight because I happened to be vegan and an animal rights activist. I felt the Board of Veterinary Medicine would give me that opportunity. I accepted the position because I love animals and I wanted to be sure they were getting the best care possible. These facts are easily accessible in a free-of-charge searchable database. Nor was I put in charge of the board as some have claimed. I am not a veterinarian, but then again, my seat required me NOT to be one.
#Garagesale listings flagged for unsecure links professional#
Statutory rules require that the board have five Colorado-licensed veterinarians and two members of ‘the public at large who have no financial or professional association with the veterinary profession’ (CRS 12-315-106). Some of you may know that I recently resigned my at-large seat on the Colorado State Board of Veterinary Medicine.
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