There really is no such thing as a no-kill shelter because sometimes by the time an animal is brought to the shelter, it’s health is too bad and the shelter has to put the animal down. However several shelters in Colorado have a 90% or above save rate. Those are listed below.
ARAPAHOE COUNTY COLORADO
Arapahoe County’s shelter is run by the Humane Society of the South Platte Valley. It serves Englewood, Littleton, as well as South Platte County and Cherry Hills Village, approximately 78,000 people. In 2013, the shelter had a 96% save rate.
ARCHULETA COUNTY COLORADO
The county shelter in Archuleta County has a partnership with the Humane Society of Pagosa Springs. They serve 12,000 people. In 2013, they had a combined 97% save rate.
BOULDER COUNTY
The Boulder County Humane Society is a leader in the Denver Metro area has this mission:
In August 2004, a group of animal welfare industry leaders from across the nation met at the Asilomar Convention Center in Pacific Grove, California. Their purpose was to build bridges across varying philosophies among those involved in animal welfare, to develop relationships and create goals focused on significantly reducing the euthanasia of healthy and treatable companion animals in the U.S.
A common vision for the future was adopted – the Asilomar Accords. The Accords set forth guiding principles for animal welfare organizations to work together to save the lives of all healthy and treatable companion animals. The document aims to cut through the rhetoric of ‘no kill’ vs. ‘open admission’ shelters and to dispel the murkiness of what defines adoptable animals. To achieve this, there is a national effort for all organizations that shelter animals to utilize the same statistical record keeping. Having standard language that all shelters can use will help us to compare the work that we do at the Humane Society of Boulder Valley with other shelters here locally and nationally as well.
For the past several years, we have collected and reported our statistics according to a nationally recognized formula, the Asilomar Accords. Aimed at providing a consistent and transparent way of understanding the outcomes of the animals coming through our front doors, we measure our success through the number and percentage of lives saved. The live release rate represents the percentage of animals who leave our building alive through reunification if they are lost or stray or through adoption into a new home. In 2013, we achieved a 92% live release rate.
Working with the Metro Denver Shelter Alliance, we track the statistics of more than 20 animal welfare agencies in our area. Through the Alliance, we look for trends and emerging needs so collaboratively we can identify ways to save more animals’ lives.
BRUSH COLORADO
The Brush Animal Shelter serves 5,000 people, but it does not accept animals surrendered by their families. In 2013, it reported a save rate of 91%. (Because the shelter does not publish comprehensive statistics, this listing is unconfirmed.)
CEDAREDGE COLORADO
Cedaredge and Orchard City are served by two organizations: Cedaredge animal control which takes in dogs and Friends of Cedaredge Animal Control which takes in cats. They serve 5,000 people. In 2013, the save rate was 94% for animal control and 97% for the Friends group.
CHAFFEE COUNTY
Chaffee County’s two shelters are run by the Ark Valley Humane Society. They serve 18,000 people. In 2013, the save rate was 98% in one shelter and 96% in the other. For more information, click here.
CLEAR CREEK COLORADO
Clear Creek and Gilpin County have a joint shelter. Together, they serve 15,000 people. In 2013, their combined save rate was 99%. For more information, click here.
CRIPPLE CREEK COLORADO
Teller County is served by two shelters: Teller County Regional Animal Shelter and the City of Cripple Creek’s animal shelter. They serve a combined 23,000 people. TCRAS, which does not accept cats, saved 98%. The Cripple Creek Animal Shelter saved 100% in 2013.
EAGLE COUNTY COLORADO
Eagle County Animal Services serves the unincorporated county and the cities of Avon, Basalt, Eagle, Gypsum, and Vail. They serve 52,000 people. In 2013, the save rate was 90%.
FREDERICK COLORADO
Frederick’s shelter is run by the Longmont Humane Society. It serves 9,000 people. LHS also provides sheltering services for Longmont County, an additional 86.000 people. In 2013, the combined save rate was 93%.
GARFIELD COUNTY COLORADO
Garfield County and Glenwood Springs both contract with Colorado Animal Rescue to run their shelter. The shelter serves roughly 66,000 people. In 2013, the combined save rate was 96%.
GILPIN COUNTY COLORADO
Clear Creek and Gilpin County have a joint shelter. Together, they serve 15,000 people. In 2013, their combined save rate was 99%.
GLENWOOD SPRINGS COLORADO
Garfield County and Glenwood Springs both contract with Colorado Animal Rescue to run their shelter. The shelter serves roughly 66,000 people. In 2013, the combined save rate was 96%.
GRAND COUNTY COLORADO
The Grand County Animal Shelter serves 15,000 people. In 2013, the combined save rate was 99%.
LA PLATA COUNTY COLORADO
La Plata County’s animal shelter is run by the La Plata County Humane Society. It serves 51,000 people. In 2013, the save rate was 91%.
LAKE COUNTY COLORADO
The Leadville – Lake County Animal Shelter serves 7,300 people. In 2013, the save rate was 96%.
LAMAR COLORADO
The Lamar Animal Shelter serves 7,800 people. Their save rate was 99%. The Lamar Animal Sanctuary is a private shelter that also takes in animals, with a saving rate of 98%.
LAS ANIMAS COUNTY COLORADO
Animals in Las Animas County are taken to Noah’s Ark. The county has 16,000 residents. In 2013, the save rate was 90%.
LONGMONT COLORADO
Longmont’s shelter is run by the Longmont Humane Society. It serves 86,000 people. It also serves Frederick which has an additional 9,000 people. In 2013, the combined save rate was 93%.
MORGAN COUNTY COLORADO
Morgan County’s animal shelter is run by the Fort Morgan Humane Society. It also serves Fort Morgan, Log Lane, and Wiggins. It pulls animals from Brush as well. It serves 28,000 people. In 2013, the save rate was 93%.
OURAY COUNTY COLORADO
The Second Chance Humane Society provides sheltering services for San Miguel County and Ouray County with the exception of Telluride, which has its own shelter. They serve a combined 12,000 people. In 2013, the save rates were 99% and 100% respectively.
PITKIN COUNTY COLORADO
The Pitkin County animal shelter is run by Animal Animal Shelter. They serve 17,000 people. In 2013, the save rate was 95%.
RIFLE COLORADO
The Rifle Animal Shelter serves 9,000 people. In 2013, the save rate was 97%.
RIO BLANCO COUNTY COLORADO
Rio Blanco County is served by two shelters and has a population of 6,700 people. The Rangely Animal Shelter reported a save rate of 99% The Meeker Animal Shelter had a 100% save rate but does not accept cats.
ROUTT COUNTY COLORADO
Routt County has a population of 24,000 people. It is served by the Steamboat Springs Animal Shelter. In 2013, it reported a 99% save rate. For more information, click here.
SAN MIGUEL COUNTY COLORADO
The Second Chance Humane Society provides sheltering services for San Miguel County and Ouray County with the exception of Telluride, which has its own shelter. They serve a combined 12,000 people. In 2013, the save rates were 99% and 100% respectively. For more information, click here.
SOUTH PLATTE COUNTY COLORADO
South Platte County’s shelter is run by the Humane Society of the South Platte Valley. It serves Englewood, Littleton, as well as Arapohoe County and Cherry Hills Village, approximately 78,000 people. In 2013, the shelter had a 96% save rate. For more information, click here.
SUMMIT COUNTY COLORADO
Summit County Animal Control & Shelter serves 28,000 people. In 2013, the shelter had a 97% save rate. For more information, click here.
TELLER COUNTY COLORADO
Teller County is served by two shelters: Teller County Regional Animal Shelter and the City of Cripple Creek’s animal shelter. They serve a combined 23,000 people. TCRAS, which does not accept cats, saved 98%. The Cripple Creek Animal Shelter saved 100% in 2013. For more information, click here.
TELLURIDE COLORADO
The Second Chance Humane Society provides sheltering services for San Miguel County with the exception of Telluride, which has its own shelter. They serve a combined 7,600 people. In 2013, the save rates were 99% and 100% respectively. For more information, click here. The source of this information is the Saving 90 website whose goal is to encourage the pet-loving community to support this idea. specific information for 2013 in Colorado for each shelter can be found here. This data hasn’t been posted on Colorado.gov since 2013 so there could be more shelters that have now reached the 90% mark.
THESE SHELTERS IN COLORADO ARE AT 80% SAVE RATE
LARIMER COUNTY
MONTROSE COUNTY
Cat Care Society Cage Free Shelter
The Cat Care Society operates a limited-admission cage-free shelter for homeless and abused cats while providing community outreach programs to enrich the lives of people and cats. Cat Care Society is 100% funded by private donations, from people just like you.
CAT CARE SOCIETY PHILOSOPHY
Cat Care Society (CCS) was founded in 1981 by Linda East, DVM and Lynn Rowe. CCS is a nonprofit organization that was established in order to improve the quality of life for homeless, injured and abused cats in the Denver metropolitan area. The Society’s goals are:
- To sponsor educational programs that promote responsible pet ownership, humane treatment of all animals, and the elimination of pet overpopulation;
- To shelter cats in a healthy, cage-free environment and to find compatible and responsible families for every cat;
- To provide community outreach programs that improve the quality of life for cats and people;
- To be a friend to all cats.
The shelter provides a temporary refuge for up to 45 adult cats until an appropriate and permanent home can be found for each. Veterinary care, premium diet and human interaction are lovingly provided.
A large number of phone calls received each day from people who have found abandoned, abused or injured cats needing good homes indicates a strong community need for our services. CCS receives an average of 70 phone calls for assistance daily. Sadly, more than half of these are from owners needing to give up their cats. For these cats, they provide information about placing the cat and referrals to other area shelters. They also provide this same information to people who have found a cat when we are at or over our capacity and cannot take the cat. Many calls involve behavioral problems or questions about feral (wild) cats. Behavior counseling and printed articles on a wide variety of topics are available. Humane traps are also available for rent.
Cat Care Society is supported by a number of loyal members and contributors, without whom we could not operate. We receive no government funding. In addition, our volunteers assist with many fundraising activities each year such as book sales, Meow Mart, Cajun’s Closet Thrift Store, our holiday gift and bake sale and much more.
HERE’S HOW DONATIONS HELP THE CAT CARE SOCIETY:
- $1,000 cares for 30 kittens, including shots, spays/neuters, microchips, food and litter.
- $500 provides medical care for one geriatric cat for one year.
- $400 covers the cost of a significant surgery, such as Kitty’s leg amputation
- $125 purchases one month’s worth of kitty litter.
- $50 provides antibiotics for a sick cat.
- $25 buys one kitten two weeks’ worth of food.
The other way to help is to adopt one of the beautiful loving cats that are housed at the Lakewood center.
Cat Care Society
5787 W. 6th Ave.
Lakewood, CO 80214
(303) 239-9680
