YOUR 2019 Impact
Animals welcomed through our doors
*HSPPR returned to Pueblo for emergency services in April and opened full services up again in August of 2019. We are missing some Pueblo statistics this year but will have full Pueblo statistics for 2020. Stay tuned, and thank you all for supporting our Pueblo efforts and helping us build an even greater community of support for homeless pet and people across our region!
A second chance
In 2019, we rescued 135 cats in a single day from a rescue who was no longer providing them with the care they needed. Surprise—most of those poor kitties had ringworm! (among LOTS of other medical needs.) For more than two months, our staff quarantined them and treated them, and we were able to save the lives of 122 cats. It took:
- 282 volunteer hours by our CART volunteers
- 798 overtime hours by our veterinary and animal care teams
- 469 lime sulfur dips given
- 2,784 Tyvek suits worn in the quarantine zones
None of this would have been possible without the support of our community. Thank you for helping us save so many lives!
Briar’s Happy Tail
Briar came in to HSPPR in September as part of the large impound of cats rescued from Pueblo. Fortunately, Briar did not test positive for ringworm like her many kennel mates, but unfortunately, she had some other health problems we did need to help her with–including stomach issues, ear infections and more. We also sent her into foster care for a few weeks to ensure she was as healthy as possible before her adoption. Briar also has osteoarthritis which causes her to have trouble jumping up onto high surfaces.
Knowing this is a lot to take on, we posted about Briar on Facebook to find her a new family. After she was adopted, we received the following comment: “The moment I looked into this girl’s kennel, she made eye contact with me and I started crying on the spot. She has found her forever home. She has two new doggie siblings, and is already wonderfully adapted. Briar is a literal angel, I kid you not. She’s posed up in my lap as I type this!”
Pet adoptions
Clifford’s Happy Tail
From matted to magnificent! This incredibly sweet dog was brought in as a stray, and no owner ever came to claim him. His coat was in pretty bad shape; he was so badly matted we couldn’t even tell what gender he was, and his face had dreadlocks hanging from his mouth that were so hard they couldn’t be cut with scissors. One of our amazing volunteer groomers came in to tackle that mess and help Clifford feel like his old self again. She spent three hours shaving him down and another three hours bathing him, drying him, and styling him. And it looks like Clifford’s new haircut paid off! He was adopted by a retired veterinary technician who has had several sheep dogs in the past, so he found someone who will be able to keep him groomed and looking his best. Way to go, Clifford!
More adoptions and more happy tails
Your life-saving support continues to make an impact on homeless pets. For the fifth year in a row, our adoptions have increased, and we are adopting out more pets than ever before! Adoptions were up 7% in Colorado Springs, and Pueblo doubled their adoption rate for the same time period in 2018. We can’t thank you enough for giving these animals a second chance!
Missing animals reunited with their families
Chewbacca’s Happy Tail
Chewbacca had a bit of a scare. He was spotted on I-25 causing hold-ups for traffic. Fortunately, our Animal Law Enforcement was able to respond quickly and get him off the highway to safety. And the very next day, he was reunited with his loving family! Chewbacca (as we found out he is called) was very nervous with us, but as soon as he saw his daddy, he ran to the front of his kennel, tail a-wagging.
We are so happy we were able to reunite Chewbacca safely with his people!
21,016 Lives Saved in 2019!
As a socially conscious shelter, we measure our success not on one single statistic, but on our ability to increase the quality of life for pets and people in our community. However, we are so excited to celebrate more lives saved than ever before with you! Our overall Lives Saved Rate was 88.9% in 2019 with an average stay of less than 9 days for animals in our care.
Animal Law Enforcement
Mango's Happy Tail
Mango was found locked in a crate in the bed of a pickup truck. She had been there for three days, with no access to food or water, and was incredibly scared. Our Animal Law Enforcement officers brought her to our veterinary clinic for evaluation and treatment. She was dehydrated, and underweight, and the skin on her legs and abdomen was irritated due to living in her own waste for days. She was scared and didn’t want to interact with us at first, but as she got used to being handled with love, she became playful and wiggly. Those responsible for her neglect were charged with animal cruelty, and Mango got a chance to start over. After nearly three weeks of medical care and socialization, Mango’s weight and skin condition improved, and she was ready for her new life.
Mango was soon adopted and is so happy in her new home!
Spay/Neuter
In addition to spaying and neutering 8,262 cats and dogs adopted from our facility, your generous support allows HSPPR to work toward curbing overpopulation outside of our walls as well by offering a subsidized spay/neuter program for qualified pet owners. We spayed or neutered 3,351 pets for members of the public in 2019.
Wellness Waggin'
Our longtime dream was to get out into our community to reach underserved areas and underserved pets. And this year, you helped us fulfill that dream! Introducing the Wellness Waggin’, a mobile veterinary clinic designed to bring wellness services, vaccinations, and sterilization services straight to the people who need it most! We started our Wellness Waggin’ program in September, so in only four short months, we spayed and neutered 138 patients and saw 550 pets owned by low-income members of the community for vaccines and wellness! These amazing services that your generosity provides will ensure pets stay healthy so they can live longer with the families they love.
Our Wellness Waggin’ is Off!
Our very first Wellness Waggin’ vaccination clinic was at Meadows Park Community Center in Colorado Springs on September 12! Sparky the Chihuahua and Dallas the puppy were our very first patients, and they both got vaccinated by our expert team. We loved getting to know the community, and we are excited to be back soon!
More of your 2019 impact
Shelby’s Happy Tail
Shelby has a new leg, er, lease on life! Unfortunately, Shelby was thrown to the floor by her previous owner, and the impact fractured her femur. Shelby was rescued by our Colorado Springs Animal Law Enforcement officers, and her owner was charged with Cruelty to Animals. Shelby was rushed back to HSPPR, but she was in severe pain. Our veterinary team worked round the clock to get Shelby on fluids, get her bloodwork, obtain radiographs, and of course manage her pain. We also got on the phone with our good friends at Colorado Canine Orthopedics to get her into urgent surgery as soon as possible.
She needed weeks of rest and recovery, plus medical management and continued care, and YOU, our amazing donors, rose to the challenge. We were able to raise enough money to get Shelby all the care she needed and THEN you helped Shelby find her new home! Way to go, Shelby! We can’t thank you enough for donating to get Shelby the surgery she needed and get her to her amazing new family.
Food: 74,499 pounds
Volunteers: 1,097
Medical Rehabilitation: 5,569
Volunteer Spotlight: Larry and Rhoda Danforth
You might not have known them, but we bet you’ve seen them. The Danforths are everywhere in the shelter – Rhoda in the cat area since 2017 and Larry… pretty much everywhere since 2013! Retired twice, they are always ready to help when someone can’t pull their shift or there is a special need. Larry is also key to our long-distance transfer program and our amazing Rescue Rover volunteers, the Rescue Rangers. Larry has made 84 overnight trips to Durango and brought back 2,035 dogs for adoption over a 5 year period. “Someone has to advocate for these animals; they can’t tell you exactly what they need or want,” says Rhoda.
Let’s give our amazing volunteers, the Danforths, a big round of ap-paw-se!
Foster: 1,819 animals
Stinky Wizzletinks’ Happy Tail
Stinky Wizzletinks came to us when ALE received a call about an animal in distress. When our officers arrived on the scene in Colorado Springs, there was a mama dog in labor, and it wasn’t going well. She had been in labor for far too long and had already lost one of her puppies. Stinky barely made it, but unfortunately, his sibling didn’t. Because of the owner’s failure to care for her pregnant dog who was clearly in great distress for a long period of time, we took in Stinky, and the judge ruled we had probable cause to do so.
Because Stinky was only a day old when we brought him into our care, we had to place him with VERY EXPERIENCED foster parents, who are well-versed in bottle feeding doggos. Since then, he has grown so much and has been thriving with his foster siblings! Once he was big enough for adoption, it didn’t take long at all for Stinky to find his new home. Way to go, Stinky, and huge thank you to his foster family for saving his life!
Youth Programs: 235 students
Transfer Program: 3,031 transferred animals
Laya’s Happy Tail
Laya’s Happy Tail! Beautiful Laya, known as Dottie here at HSPPR, came in as a transfer from one of our rescue partners. She was deaf, so we thought we might have to wait a little bit to make sure Laya found the right new home for her. But it turns out, her home was on the lookout for a girl as special as she is! Laya was adopted the first day she was available to this amazing family. Way to go, Laya!
