Done with “dumb,” animal welfare charity rebrands as Humane Colorado
The Dumb Friends League announced Friday that it is ditching its century-old name and rebranding as Humane Colorado.
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The Dumb Friends League officially dumped its century-old name Friday, announcing its rebranding as Humane Colorado.
When the animal welfare charity was founded in 1910, “dumb” was a common synonym for “mute,” and “dumb friends” referred to the nonspeaking animals helped by the organization.
Chief Operating Officer Katie Parker said the charity’s name was inspired by a London-based group, Our Dumb Friends League, which relaunched as Blue Cross more than 60 years ago.
Parker said supporters of the Colorado charity have wrestled for decades with a name that some people consider humorous or offensive.
“We’ve heard a lot of, ‘Animals aren’t dumb, you’re dumb,’” she said. “Especially as the fabric of the Colorado community has changed, we realized our name didn’t really speak to the work that we do.”
She said “Dumb Friends League” is difficult to translate into other languages, and as demographics have shifted, the charity wanted a name that would more clearly reflect its work, which includes shelter and veterinary services benefitting tens of thousands of animals every year.
Parker said the change was communicated to volunteers and employees earlier this week, and made public Friday.
“This is our name catching up with our work, and our commitment in Colorado is not changing,” Parker said. “We knew it would be hard no matter when we did it, and we’re ready.”
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