Mariah's Promise

ABOUT US:

Mariah's promise is "All That We Can - We Will" for the animals. We are a true no-kill sanctuary, a 501(c)(3) run by volunteers. Mike and Toni, the founders, have been rescuing dogs since 1990 in Texas, Missouri and now Colorado. We have yet to find an "unadoptable" dog - we assess each dog that comes to us only to understand their personality and needs, not to determine whether they live or die. Until a dog finds a new home, they have a home with us. Our desire is to give animals the time needed to find the family for them, no matter how long it takes. We take in animals that have been left injured or neglected, older dogs and those with health issues - we bring them into our home where their needs are met. They are valued and loved. Here, they have a chance to heal and learn to trust again.

On our property there is a kennel area with several over-sized kennels, each with an igloo, for daytime use; the dogs are indoors at night. The dogs have three huge play yards on three fenced acres to run and play, socialize and mingle with other dogs. We share our home with an average of 35 dogs in the evenings and they take turns coming to work with us or just running errands. We do a lot of "hands on" with our dogs because it helps them adjust to different situations and transition quickly into their new homes.

We also assist caregivers with their pet's food and medical as needed. We are privileged to assist the military people when they need to re-home or need temporary care for their animals or when they want to add one to their family!

We appreciate the encouragement, support and commitment many people and businesses have given to help the animals that enter Mariah's Promise. We could not do it without them and we thank each of you for your help!

Mariah's Promise was named after an adorable 4 lb., 5 week old, abandoned puppy. She fought hard but ultimately lost her battle against parvo while we were negotiating to build this sanctuary. Because of Mariah's heart and spirit we chose to name our sanctuary in honor of her. Mariah represents the hundreds of dogs and puppies that have touched our hearts and our lives.

It has been rumored that Mariah's Promise is closing - we are trying not to!! Finances continue to be an issue and we are struggling. We are downsizing due to the battle we have had with conspiring neighbors since we began taking FAMILY PETS and puppies when the Pit Bull 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 up 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). See our Media Page for news articles.

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 was set for 11/29/07. 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!!

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