Huskies still up for adoption as Snowmass dog sledding operation winds down final season
Over 100 dogs have been adopted since December
Lucy Peterson/The Aspen Times
In the final stretch of its last season in Snowmass Village, Krabloonik Dog Sledding has found homes for almost all of its dogs.
The dog sledding operation’s last day of the season was set to be April 1, but more snow has allowed it to continue operating until April 15, owner Dan Phillips said. Since Krabloonik began its final season on Dec. 20, it had about 150 Alaskan huskies to rehome by the time it ended its final dog sledding season.
About 40 dogs have yet to be adopted, but people across the state and the country have expressed interest, and Phillips said all of the dogs will be adopted by the time Krabloonik vacates its land by June 1.
Krabloonik was ordered to rehome all of its dogs after a settlement with the town of Snowmass Village approved in July deemed the 2023-24 season the dog sledding operation’s final. It will have until June 1 to end its operations and vacate the property, according to the settlement.
Over the winter, he said he has built a big network of individuals and shelters who have been fostering dogs and helping advertise adoptions. At the start of January, several people had expressed interest in adopting the dogs, but only nine had been rehomed. Since then, individuals from Aspen to Grand Junction and other recreational dog sledding operations have committed to adopting dogs once the season ends.
“Now that we’re not as busy … we’ll have people picking up dogs this week,” he said. “The biggest struggle that we’re having (with the remaining dogs) is transportation. We have people from all over the country, Alaska, and Canada that want dogs, but we’re having a hard time figuring out reasonable transportation for the dogs, so that’s our biggest hurdle right now to figure out.”
Phillips also struggled with finding suitable owners for the dogs at first — the huskies are energetic dogs that need a lot of space. People in Silt and Rifle who own a considerable amount of land have reached out to Krabloonik to adopt since they have the space for the dogs to exercise, he said.
Krabloonik is also partnering with the August Foundation for Alaska Racing Dogs, a non-profit that provides veterinary care and retirement homes for sled racing dogs in Alaska. Several of the Alaskan huskies at Krabloonik are senior dogs, between 14 and 15 years old.
“That’s what’s taken the most time is to build this great network,” Phillips said. “We’re super confident in the last 40 dogs, and we will hit the timeframe perfectly.”
After the season ends and Krabloonik begins vacating the property, it will likely host an auction in early May to sell some of its items, like the Krabloonik sign at the entrance and the artwork in the restaurant.
“We’ve been focused on the adoptions and getting through the season, but throughout the season, we’ve been cleaning, organizing, getting rid of things we don’t need,” he said. “As soon as the season shuts down, we’ll have a full crew working outside cleaning and clearing the property out.”
In November, the Snowmass Town Council began discussing ways to use the Krabloonik land once the dog sledding operation is gone. Council members discussed options such as developing affordable housing or opening a restaurant and dog park.
Any discussions to repurpose the land would need to include the Snowmass Divide Homeowners Association, which controls the land use of the 2.44 acres that Krabloonik sits on. Developing affordable housing would require changing the planned unit development (PUD) for the land, which currently only allows for the operation of a restaurant, dog sledding operation, or a single-family home.
