Krabloonik Dog Sledding looking to rehome more than 100 dogs ahead of its final season
Lucy Peterson/The Aspen Times
Krabloonik Dog Sledding must rehome more than 100 Alaskan huskies.
The order comes after a settlement with the town of Snowmass Village approved in July deemed this 2023-24 winter season the dog sledding operation’s final.
Krabloonik needs about 115 dogs to operate this season, said owner Dan Phillips, and he’s hoping they will all get adopted by the time the season ends April 1. It will have until June 1 to end its operations and vacate the property, according to the settlement.
But Krabloonik may have more dogs on the premises that will need to be adopted, according to Krabloonik’s wind down plan submitted to Snowmass officials in August as part of the settlement agreement.
“This estimated number is not a commitment to have only 115 dogs on the premises, as sometimes having some semi-retired dogs in reserve is necessary; but it is currently the best estimate of the number of dogs that will be needed,” according to the wind down plan, which the Times obtained through a Colorado Open Records Act (CORA) request.
Two dogs have been adopted since the settlement was approved, Phillips said. Once the season starts on Dec. 15, “it’s going to be really easy to adopt the dogs,” he said.
“The guests love the dogs,” he added. “We’ll have the working dogs pre-adopted, so maybe in January, someone wants to take one of the dogs, but we’ll set it up for mid-April, so that they can then pick up the dog and take it to their new home.”
Krabloonik is working with the Colorado Animal Rescue in Glenwood Springs, which will list adoptable dogs on its website, he said. In an adoption update sent to Snowmass Town Manager Clint Kinney on Oct. 1, he said Krabloonik is struggling to adopt senior dogs.
“I appreciate your patience through this process, and we all hoped we would have some seniors adopted by now,” he wrote. “But this will be the hardest group to move. The younger working dogs will be much easier.”
Krabloonik is required to send monthly adoption updates to the town as part of the settlement agreement. The Times also obtained the October adoption update through a CORA request.
The settlement between Krabloonik and its landlord Snowmass Village was approved after the town took steps to evict Krabloonik for violating its lease agreement concerning the treatment of its dogs. The dog sledding operation has received criticism from animal activists and employees over its treatment of the dogs for over two decades. Phillips bought Krabloonik in 2014 from Dan MacEachen, who opened the restaurant and dog sledding attraction in 1976.
The agreement required Krabloonik to provide sled-dog rides for at least 100 days between Nov. 1 and March 31 to allow for the adoption of the dogs.
The season will begin Dec. 15, and the dogs will begin training on Nov 1, Phillips said.
“The decision that we made to settle was in the best interest of the dogs,” he said. “It gives us time to rehouse these dogs, so they have a next chapter in their lives.”
