The Denver Dumb Friends League is shedding its name and instead becoming Humane Colorado.
At the time of the organization’s founding 115 years ago, “dumb” was more commonly used to refer to beings that don’t speak — like dogs and cats. The organization said it’s heard plenty of complaints and questions about the name.
“Over the years, ongoing feedback from community members who felt our name was out of touch highlighted the obstacles we faced to reaching new adopters, volunteers, donors, and supporters,” Humane Colorado’s website said.
Humane Colorado unveiled its new name Friday, saying it “reflects our rich history, while also embodying our values, vision, and our mission.”
In addition to the new name, Humane Colorado also has a new logo as well as a new tagline, “Leading with Compassion.”
Ed.note: Interestingly, “dumb” has had dual meanings for centuries. The word (or variants of it) meant only “mute, speechless” in Old English and other languages. But in Old High German and modern German, it took on the “stupid” definition, which apparently merged into modern English, according to the Online Etymology Dictionary.
And as I just learned, the Proto-Germanic version was “dumbaz.” - AK
