Denver Dumb Friends League

Companion animal shelter services:the League provides compassionate care through comprehensive, high-quality, direct services for pets and horses in Colorado who have experienced or are vulnerable to experiencing homelessness, suffering, neglect, and abuse. These services - which include behavioral support and enrichment, rehabilitation, foster care (including for families experiencing hardship), lost and found, and adoption - are provided at the following League locations: the leslie a. malone center in Denver, the buddy center in castle rock, the san luis valley animal center in alamosa, and the harmony equine center in franktown (see below for more details).the League is a socially conscious shelter. Socially conscious sheltering (scs) is a transparent and thoughtful model of how shelters can best support vulnerable pets by providing respectful treatment and placement for every healthy and safe animal. The League works with its community, city, county, and state policymakers and other shelters to create the best possible outcomes for pets, while nurturing the human-animal bond and ensuring that no animal is turned away due to age, health status, or behavioral challenges. As a socially conscious shelter, the League assesses the behavior and medical needs of each animal, treats these needs whenever possible, alleviates suffering, makes appropriate and humane euthanasia decisions, and places all healthy and safe animals in loving homes.during fiscal year 2024, the League's incredible impact included the following:- welcoming 20,598 pets to its three Colorado shelters: the leslie a. malone center, the buddy center, and the san luis valley animal center- giving homeless animals 343,781 nights of safety across these three shelters- providing 367,149 hours of tlc, including essential animal care, daily medical treatment, behavioral support, and tailored enrichment - making 17,187 thoughtful placements through adoption or reuniting pets with their families- keeping families together through 7,523 days of temporary housing for 201 unique pets whose owners faced hardship and crisis- reuniting 2,661 lost pets with their owners- caring for 2,120 pets in the homes of 526 dedicated foster volunteers

Shelter veterinary services:the League provides all needed medical care for the animals in its shelters. Before an animal's adoption and during their stay, the skilled shelter veterinary services ("svs") team examines, evaluates, vaccinates, microchips, and spays/neuters cats and dogs. A variety of specialized surgeries and other lifesaving treatments are also provided to cats, dogs, and small mammals.during fiscal year 2024, the League's svs team:- performed 10,545 spay/neuter surgeries; 824 dentals; and 895 other surgeries, including orthopedic, soft tissue, and wound-repair procedures- administered 17,736 vaccinations to protect shelter animals from infection and disease- implanted 9,550 microchips to help identify pets in the event they become lost- nurtured the health and growth of 3,162 under-aged kittens (younger than 8 weeks)

Community veterinary services:the League believes that veterinary care is essential to keeping pets healthy and with the people who love them most. The organization's veterinary hospital at csu spur, located in Denver's globeville-elyria-swansea neighborhood, provides urgent care services for ill or injured pets whose families would not otherwise have access to veterinary care because of economic, language, and other barriers. The fees at csu spur are highly subsidized, with flexible payment options available if needed. If a family can afford to provide care for their pet, they are directed to other excellent veterinarians in the community.as part of the League's commitment to reducing the number of free-roaming cats and homeless pets, the Dumb Friends League spay/neuter clinic, located on the csu spur campus, offers subsidized spay/neuter surgeries and core vaccinations for Colorado cats (including owned cats and community cats brought to the hospital by its metro cat street team via humane trap-neuter-return services) and owned dogs. Moreover, the League hosts regular pop-up vaccine clinics for owned cats and dogs and their families in local underserved communities.during fiscal year 2024, the League's community veterinary services ("cvs") team:- provided care for 26,630 pets, including 7,045 urgently ill or injured- performed 12,546 spay/neuter surgeries; 511 dentals; and 912 other surgeries, including orthopedic, soft tissue, and wound-repair procedures- administered 25,560 vaccinations to protect animals in the community from infection and disease- implanted 4,462 microchips to help identify pets in the event they become lost- served 7,254 owned cats and dogs at pop-up vaccine clinics in underserved communities- humanely trapped, neutered, and returned 1,666 feral and free-roaming cats

Rehabilitation services at harmony equine center:the Dumb Friends League harmony equine center ("harmony") is a rehabilitation and adoption facility for abused and neglected horses, ponies, donkeys, and mules who have been removed from their owners by law enforcement authorities. As capacity allows, harmony also accepts owned Colorado equines in need of rehoming from people who can no longer care for them.when abused and neglected horses and other equines arrive at harmony, they are examined and given immediate medical care to support their comfort, health, and safety. Once they have been permanently surrendered to harmony, they are evaluated, trained and socialized, rehabilitated, and adopted, as appropriate.during fiscal year 2024, the harmony team:- protected 154 equines from harm, including through impounds co-facilitated by law enforcement, transfers from partners, and owner surrenders- successfully placed or comfortably housed all healthy and safe equinescommunity outreach and educational services:humane education and community engagement play an essential role in fulfilling the League's mission to end pet homelessness and animal suffering. By sharing messages of compassion, kindness, and respect for animals, the League is planting seeds for a world where all living beings are cared for and valued. League educators travel to schools, lead youth camps and volunteer days, and teach virtual and onsite classes for children and adults alike. The League is also home to a dedicated call center team, who provide vital resources and bilingual support to people and pets throughout the community.during fiscal year 2024, the League:- offered 13,989 hours of educational programs on various animal welfare topics.- connected with the community through 81,637 calls answered through the League's kathi brock communications center.- shared brochures and online resources to pet owners and shelters across the country.- reached the community through 34,000 media engagements and 4.76 billion media impressions.- received the generous support of 24,116 donors.- benefitted from 1,463 volunteers who donated 212,672 hours of service the equivalent of 102 full-time employees.advocacy: through advocacy, the League partners with legislators, policymakers, community leaders, and other changemakers to help shape laws and policies that support the welfare of animals across Colorado. During the legislative session, the League supported the successful passage of senate bill 24-045 (also known as the "spay/neuter bill"), which was signed into law in may 2024. This law limits the sale of intact kittens and puppies by requiring facilities that import cats and dogs from out of state to spay/neuter them prior to adoption or sale - with the only exemption being if the spay/neuter procedure places the animal's life at immediate risk.the League has also focused its recent advocacy efforts on expanding access to veterinary care for pets and people across Colorado. This past year, the League's advocacy team worked with veterinarians, animal welfare partners, pet owners, and statewide volunteers to lead a ballot measure seeking to expand access to care through the creation of a veterinary professional associate (pa) position. Like a pa in human medicine, this new role would increase overall workforce capacity by allowing highly trained professionals with a master's degree in veterinary clinical care to conduct routine wellness exams, diagnose minor conditions, and treat patients under the supervision of a licensed veterinarian.in fiscal year 2024, the League's advocacy team focused on seven animal welfare bills and one ballot initiative. Investigative services:the League's animal protection program works to prevent abuse and neglect and promote animal welfare statewide. This dedicated team also assists law enforcement with investigations and educates owners to help them bring the care of their animals into compliance with the law.during fiscal year 2024, the animal protection team:-responded to 1,014 cases of neglect and mistreatment of animals