Measures of Success 2022
In 2022, Riverdale Animal Shelter, like many shelters across the country, experienced a record number of animal intakes due to post-pandemic financial strain and the housing crisis. However, through the power of a small, but mighty staff, and with the assistance of a dedicated team of volunteers, and creative brainstorming with our network of shelter and rescue partners, RAS still found homes for thousands of animals. In comparison to 2021, below is how we made an impact:
- 3,650 Adoptions (13% increase)
- 1,831 Lost Pets Returned Home (3% increase)
- 2,472 Spay/Neuters (7% increase)
- 8,156 Animals Vaccinated (14% increase)
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More Successes
- 434 animals were fostered in 2022.
- 246 animals were transferred to trusted rescue partners.
- 103,904 days of shelter were provided for 7,165 animals.
- 165 community cats were vaccinated, spayed/neutered, and returned to their colonies last year. In addition to expanding our shelter-neuter-return (SNR) efforts in unincorporated Adams County in 2021, we are now providing this service to the Northglenn community.
- 413 animals were adopted during the month-long Clear the Shelters event in partnership with NBC Universal/Telemundo – a new record!
- 1,844 animals were adopted through 11 reduced-fee adoption promotions throughout the year.
- 268 volunteers served 26,693 hours to assist us in providing quality care for shelter animals in need.
Serving Our Community
- We launched a small retail space with basic supplies to help families more smoothly transition their newly adopted family members into their new home.
- Our volunteer program introduced a Student Community Service program that focuses on morning kennel cleaning, which has been a huge help to our Animal Care team; and is also fulfilling a need for students in our community.
- We worked with student interns at Mapleton Career Exploration to provide them experience in exploring animal welfare, while they helped care of our animals.
- We worked with numerous county departments, including Community Safety and Well-Being and the Economic Mobility team at Pete Mirelez Human Services; and non-profit organization, Servcios de la Raza, to provide no-cost offsite vaccine clinics and food donations to pets of low-income families and those experiencing homelessness.
- We partnered with Hyland Hills Water World in Adams County on their annual Cowabunga Beach Day event where hundreds of animals enjoyed end-of-season swimming. The event raised $3,840 towards no-cost vaccinations and microchips for pets of low-income families and those experiencing homelessness.
More Data & Statistics
Riverdale Animal Shelter is an open-admissions shelter and follows the socially conscious sheltering principles. This means we take in animals regardless of age, breed, health, and/or temperament, and place all healthy and behaviorally-sound animals. Our live release rate remains above 90%, and we do not euthanize for time or space, nor is there a set time limit for how long a pet can remain in our care while awaiting its forever home. All team members are trained in fear-free animal handling techniques to kindly reduce fear, anxiety, and stress for all animals in our care.
We are a PACFA-licensed facility and proudly report data on a monthly basis to Shelter Animals Count, a national database of sheltered dog and cat statistics by county to help provide facts and data-driven solutions to save animal lives.
Riverdale Animal Shelter partners with more than 40 rescue organizations and numerous animal shelters along the Front Range to place animals with a variety of medical and behavior support needs. Together, we are making a difference.
