About Foothills Animal Shelter

Foothills Animal Shelter is an open admission shelter. Our doors are always open to pets in Jefferson County and we are committed to serving our community as a socially-conscious shelter. We care for thousands of kittens, dogs, puppies and critters every year with a compassionate team of staff and volunteers. (Unfortunately, we can not accept wild animals; they should be taken to organizations who specialize in their care.) We are a true community resource and offer a variety of services including pet adoption, Jefferson County pet licensing, affordable spaying and neutering, vaccinations, microchipping and lost and found pets. We are so focused on our important mission and the life-saving work that we do every day of the year, that we are pleased to announce our commitment to the Socially Conscious Animal Community movement. The fundamental goal of this commitment is to create the best outcomes for all animals. Please click here to learn more about the ways in which we aim to reach these outcomes and to find ways to get involved.

Mission

Foothills Animal Shelter is dedicated to providing support to our surrounding community through education, services that strengthen the human-pet bond, and humane care for the animals we serve.

About Foothills Animal Shelter’s Values

To have honesty and integrity in all we do, Foothills Animal Shelter is guided by the following values:

Stewardship: Assume responsibility and ownership for our actions within our shelter and our community.

Positive Culture: Create a safe, supportive environment for the health, well-being, and development of staff and volunteers.

Openness: Nurture an innovative, inclusive, and creative environment that cultivates conversations and relationships that actively work towards the future.

Team-oriented: Build relationships, embrace teamwork, and foster collaboration in pursuit of our Mission.

Areas Served

We work closely with animal welfare officers across Jefferson County to keep our neighborhoods safe and to educate the community. Arvada, Edgewater, Golden, Lakewood, Westminster, Wheat Ridge, Sheridan, and unincorporated Jefferson County are all communities served by the Shelter.

History

Originally founded in 1976 by an intergovernmental agreement the Jefferson Animal Shelter served as the impound facility for unincorporated Jefferson County and the cities of Arvada, Lakewood and Wheat Ridge. In 1994, after years of success, the Jefferson Animal Shelter reevaluated its mission and goals to accommodate growing demands on the facility and changes in the external environment. As part of the reevaluation, the shelter changed its name to Table Mountain Animal Center. With the new name came expanded services, more efficient operations and greater public outreach, including the addition of the City of Golden as a member agency.

On June 30, 2009, ground was broken on the site of a long-awaited brand new facility, Foothills Animal Shelter. In early August of 2010, Table Mountain Animal Center became Foothills Animal Shelter and moved to its new beautiful building at 580 McIntyre at the Jefferson County Fairgrounds.

At 33,000 square feet, the current facility is nearly three times the size of the old building and allows the Shelter to significantly improve the space in which the animals are housed and the services to the community. A new medical suite allows the Shelter to provide more on-site, cost-effective care and has increased the number of spays and neuters.

Board of Directors

Jefferson County and each city served by Foothills Animal Shelter are represented by one leader who sits on our Board of Directors.

Arvada

President

Lorie Gillis, Deputy City Manager – City of Arvada

Westminster

Vice-President

Chris Lindsey, Policy & Budget Manager — Westminster

Edgewater

Treasurer

Nichole Kirkpatrick, Administrative Services Director – City of Edgewater

Wheat Ridge

Secretary

Marianne Schilling, Assistant to the City Manager — Wheat Ridge

Golden

Carly Lorentz, Deputy City Manager – City of Golden

Jefferson County

Mary O’Neil, Director of Strategy, Planning & Analysis – Jefferson County

Lakewood

John Pickard, Commander – Lakewood Police Department

Foothills Animal Shelter Executive Director

Connie Howard

E-mail: choward@fas4pets.org

Direct phone: 720-407-5210

Animal Control Partners

Animal Control Officers investigate animal abuse and provide services to keep our community safe. We consider these officers to be our partners in the field. They have access to our facility 24 hours a day so that they can keep lost pets safe while owners are located.

Arvada Animal Management 720.898.6850

Edgewater Police Department 303.278.2000

Golden Code Enforcement 303.384.8045

Jefferson County Animal Control 303.271.5070

Lakewood Animal Control 303.987.7173

Sheridan Animal Control 303.762.2200

Westminster Animal Control 303.658.4326

Wheat Ridge Animal Control 303.235.2926

Foothills Animal Shelter Statistics

Foothills Animal Shelter participates in the Metro Denver Animal Welfare Alliance (MDAWA), a coalition of 25 public and private shelters, rescue groups and other animal service providers. Our mission is to foster the collaborative efforts of our members to promote humane care for companion animals in our community.

Through 2015, Foothills Animal Shelter collected and reported shelter statistics, including live release rate, in accordance with the Asilomar Accords. The guiding principles of the Asilomar Accords included statistical transparency and a uniform method for collecting and reporting shelter data. Recognizing that industry standards are changing, an improved method of collecting data has evolved out of the Accords matrix. Foothills Animal Shelter will now share the statistics in a data matrix that is required by the Pet Animal Care and Facilities Act (PACFA) for Colorado-licensed shelters and rescues. In addition, Foothills Animal Shelter is reporting data to the Shelter Animals Count National Database (www.shelteranimalscount.org) which provides shelter data on dogs and cats at the county level in the U.S. The purpose of Shelter Animals Count is to enable data-driven decisions to promote saving the lives of companion animals and preventing homelessness.