Why would the Department of Agriculture wish to deny the right of an animal owner to bath it or to have somebody transport it to a dog park or veterinarian? I really don't know and if you ask them, as I did, they'll tell you they are only following the law that was requested by the pet industry. Well that's a bunch of baloney. Or in Col. Potter's (TV's Mash) words Horse Hockey. They are just following the law as they see it and according to rules they wrote. Recently, during one of my sleepless nights, I ran across a coin operated self-service dog wash system that works like a car wash. Simultaneously, I was contemplating finding a legislator to sponsor a bill to amend the Pet Animal Care Facilities Act (PACFA) to allow small operators who do not make the majority of their income from boarding pets (mostly cats and dogs) to do so on a limited basis, and to transport animals at the client's request to the dog park or perhaps to the veterinarian. It was during this inquiry that I was notified that a state license was not only required for that, but a self-service coin operated dog wash would also require the blessings of the state. What you ask? Well, that's what I said. I had a client tell me that it was easier to board a child in this state than a dog? Given that it is probably easier to bath a child than it is a dog as well. Now I'm not surprised that the pet industry wishes to limit competition. Lord knows yet another dog wash would force a few groomers to be a bit more competitive. And Lord knows that an owner cannot be trusted to wash their own dogs, lest they give them the dreaded swine flu or something else onerous. (That is the reason, after all, the administrator relies on for having to force operators of self-serve dog washes to kiss the government ring. In Dr Kate Anderson's reply to me she said: "The purpose of the PACFA program is to ensure a minimum standard for animal care, physical space and construction in pet care facilities and we do this through licensing and inspection as well as complaint investigation. This legislation was accomplished through the direction of the pet care industry in collaboration with the Department of Agriculture. These standards protect the animals that reside in the facilities and assure Colorado's consumers that the interest of their pet is being served. This was the goal of the industry when proposing this legislation." I requested and received a list of ALL licensed dog washing facilities in the state. They are ALL groomers. There is not a non-attendant self-service among them... they don't want you washing you own dogs. You are not smart enough to choose a clean place with ample space. They instead want to force you to spend four times as much to use a groomer. And this is the same government who wants to run you health care!