ELIZABETH — Blame it on Jake Jabs.
The TV pitchman and president of American Furniture Warehouse had his trademark tigers at one of his stores five years ago when Joan Laub wandered in and fell in love with the cuddly predators.
“After that, I wanted to become involved with big cats,” said Laub, who wants to keep six lions and tigers on her 43-acre ranch.
It’s a proposal that has many of her Elbert County neighbors in an uproar. Some call her a “hobbyist,” bringing dangerous predators to the neighborhood.
While Laub has never owned lions or tigers, her boyfriend, Peter Winny, has been an animal behaviorist for 15 years, including a stint with Las Vegas performers Siegfried & Roy, she said.
“A lot of assumptions are being made without the proper information,” said Laub, a trauma psychologist.
The lions and tigers, which she has not yet acquired, would come from animal parks or other sanctuaries that could no longer keep them.
“I’ve committed my life to helping people,” she said, “and this is a way for me to help animals as well.”
For Colorado, it’s becoming a jungle out there: 14 facilities are licensed to keep big predators. Laub’s Lion’s Gate Sanctuary would be Elbert County’s second sanctuary.
But Laub’s plan has stirred a drumbeat of dissent. Some of her neighbors will argue against her zoning request at a planning board meeting tonight in Kiowa.
“I walk out here, day or night, with no fear,” said neighbor Al Litwak, who has had his home north of Elizabeth since 1973. “But if there are lions and tigers, no matter how small the possibility that they might be loose, then that peace of mind is gone.”
Most of her neighbors will never see the cats, Laub said, and with the regulations she would have to follow, their livestock would be protected. She has spent $100,000 on a barn with 12-foot fences and electric reinforcements. An outdoor habitat is in the works.
One neighbor, Garry Williams, is on Laub’s side. He has lived nearby for 30 years and has 50 miniature horses.
“If you compared her setup to the Denver Zoo, the Denver Zoo would come in second,” Williams said. “And I’ve got more to lose out here than anybody.”
Already in Elbert is the 16-year-old Prairie Wind Animal Refuge near Agate, caring for 60 exotic predators, 20 big cats among them. The sanctuary is closed to the public.
The state uses the facility as an example of a well-run wildlife sanctuary. Still, a tiger tore off a volunteer’s arm in 2000 at the sanctuary when the helper reached through a cage to pet the cat.
Owner Michael Jurich said it was a tragedy caused by a brief lapse in judgment.
The cost for taking care of such an animal is high, Jurich said, noting that he spends a minimum of $40 a day on food and shelter for each cat, plus veterinary bills and insurance.
“The state of Colorado and the Division of Wildlife is really taking a hard look at people who want to do this,” he said. “And they should.”
Kathy Konishi, the agency’s manager of special licensing, gets three or four calls a week from people who want to own predators. The strict rules and expense dissuade most, she said.
“It’s not easy or cheap, and the regulations are rigorous,” she said. “Obviously this is not something the state of Colorado wants to encourage, in particular with dangerous wildlife.”
9News contributed to this report.
