OBITUARIES

Joseph Don Crenshaw of Castle Rock, Colorado passed away on Friday, May 19th, 2023. He was widely known as a mild-mannered, congenial, and an all around good guy. Born in Atlanta, Georgia at Crawford Long hospital, he graduated from Sylvan High School in 1956. He learned his love of baseball from his dad, Joe and his uncle Ed, at age 7 and enjoyed playing on sandlot teams as a boy. For one year he played in Panama City, Florida in the Sally league as a pitcher throwing a respectable slider that he called a break sharp. He attended Georgia Tech night school, 1956 to 1958 studying Mechanical Engineering.

e US army drafted him in 1959, served until 1961, enjoying engineering school at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, nishing out his tour of duty playing baseball for the ird Army Fort Mac Colonel Quarters Team. His claim to fame and biggest thrill was pitching against Hank Aaron and Joe Torre with the Milwaukee Braves in a practice game during the preseason.

He worked at the Ford Assembly Plant in Atlanta GA for many years until 1972 as a Equipment Design Engineer on a drawing board, long before computers were used.

In Atlanta, Kenny, 1961, Dorothy (Dottie) 1963 and Sharon, 1965 were born. While vacationing in Colorado, visiting his sister Patsy, he became smitten by the state of Colorado and soon moved to Arvada, Colorado in 1975 and worked for the Coors Brewery. One year later he moved to Castle Rock with a population of 4,500 and worked at the Kolbe Striping, retiring after 25 years as Quality Control Superintendent in 2006. Joe was a charter member of the Castle Rock Fraternal Order of Eagles at its inception in 1980 and later served as President.

He married the love of his life Judy Kolbe Dillman in 1980, Castle Rock Colorado. In retirement, Joe ushered for the Colorado Rockies in section 106/107, loving every minute for 14 years, especially the interaction with the fans. Since he liked to go in so early to the games to watch the players workout, the Rockies asked him to shag the practice balls hit into the stands during batting practice. A few of the balls he picked up ended up in his lunch box each game, sharing them with the kids who were thrilled to have mementos of that game.

Joe and Judy enjoyed traveling in the U.S., England, Turkey, Germany, Mexico, Alaska, and Greece.

He is survived by his four children, Kenny, Dottie, Betsy and Danny, 12 grandchildren and 8 great-grandchildren and preceded in death by his parents Josiah R. Crenshaw and Dorothy Crenshaw, sisters Patsy Applegate, Judy Broughman, brother-in-law Frank Applegate, son in law Khalid Al-Sadun, and his greatest sadness, his youngest daughter Sharon Hulstrom and 10-year-old greatgrandson Austin Lobato in 2022.

Celebration of life will be held at the First United Methodist Church in Castle Rock, Colorado June 10th, 2023 at 11:00 a.m. If attending, wear your favorite baseball team paraphernalia. Memorial contributions can be made to the wounded warrior project in memory of Joseph Crenshaw.

Private dog park site gaining pup-ularity

BY MCKENNA HARFORD MHARFORD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Since Elle Ritt started renting her Wheat Ridge yard to fellow dog owners in November, she’s hosted birthday parties for pups, pooch photoshoots and doggie play groups almost every weekend.

Ritt is one of dozens of renters in the Denver metro area on a website called Sni Spot, which links people interested in sharing their yard with local dog owners who want a private fenced area to let their pups o -leash. rough Sni Spot, renters set an hourly rate per dog and time slot availability for users to book.

With two older dogs who need less exercise, Ritt said she wanted to let other dogs take advantage of her large yard and, so far, there has been no shortage of demand.

“It’s just mindblowing how frequently it’s used,” she said.

Ritt said a majority of her visitors don’t have their own yards and prefer to avoid public dog parks because of reactive or sensitive pups. e site allows users to tailor their search to t needs like a taller fence height or not having other dogs or animals visible.

Dr. Rebecca Ruch-Gallie, a 23-year veterinarian at Colorado State University’s Community Practice clinic, said the uncontrolled nature of dog parks leads to risks like ghts and disease transmission, which is why she typically recommends other ways to exercise dogs, such as daycare or private yard time.

In addition to walks and playtime, RuchGallie said some dogs need to run and all dogs bene t from exploring new routes and places.

Ruch-Gallie said she will sometimes take her pups on what she calls a “sni -ari.”

“ ey take in the world much di erently than we do, so give them those di erent scents to pick up and opportunities to see and smell di erent things,” she said. “Sometimes they just want to go, go, go and get their energy out and other times they just want to meander and take the sni s in.”

Mike Rieber, who has been renting his fenced pasture in Parker since October, said one of the best perks of sharing his yard is seeing how excited pups get to check out new scents and release their energy.

“ ey call it a Sni Spot and I never really understood how important that was to a dog, but that’s the rst thing they all do when they get here is smell everything,” Rieber said. “Especially with the repeat dogs, as soon as their paws hit the ground, boy, they’re o .”

Ritt’s experience has been similar, she said, adding that Sni Spot has been mutually bene cial, not just for the dogs, but also the humans. She’s received multiple thank you notes from visitors and attests that catching glimpses of visitors always makes her smile.

“It’s so cute to peek in the backyard and see grown men laying on their stomachs taking pictures of their puppies,” Ritt said.

Another Sni Spot user, Lyndsey Leach, who rents her Lakewood backyard, agreed. Leach lost her own pooch three years ago but remains an avid dog-lover.

“It’s so nice when they’re comfortable and running around,” she said. “I’m always happy when they’re happy.” None of the three renters report issues with destroyed yards, rude users, neighbor complaints or unruly animals.

In addition to the positive mental health benefits, Leach said renting her yard is a convenient passive income and gives her the flexibility to be away from home if needed. Leach estimates that since she started in January, she’s had about 50 visitors and made around $400.

“I don’t really have any expenses associated with it, other than eaten tennis balls,” she joked.

Rieber said he didn’t originally think he would make much money from the app but has been happy with the extra cash. He noted the demand is only picking up in the warmer months, though he got a fair share of visitors during the winter as well.

“We’re not trying to maximize our revenue, we’re doing this more as a service for young people that have dogs and need a place that’s private,” he said.

For Ritt, her most recent month was her most successful, cashing in over $1,000, and before that, she averaged a few hundred dollars monthly.

“One of our dogs has had a ton of health issues, so it’s like SniffSpot funds her care,” Ritt said. “It truly has been a notable supplemental income.”

To learn more, visit sniffspot.com.