Inside Aurora’s Animal Shelter: Challenges Today and Hopes for Tomorrow

The Heart of the Community: An Institutional Profile of the Aurora Animal Shelter

The Aurora Animal Shelter, a division of the city’s broader Animal Services, stands as a critical and often overburdened institution at the intersection of public health, community service, and animal welfare.

Its story is one of profound evolution, from a basic public safety function to a comprehensive community resource.

However, this evolution has been marked by a growing and dangerous disparity: a 21st-century mission being executed within the confines of 20th-century infrastructure.

Understanding this history and the mandate that governs the shelter is essential to grasping the profound challenges it faces today and the critical importance of the path it is forging toward a new future.

From Rabies Control to Community Hub: A History of Service

The origins of Aurora Animal Services date back to the 1950s, rooted not in adoption but in public health and safety.

The division was initially created to help control the rabies epidemic in Colorado by enforcing state laws that required pet owners to vaccinate their dogs and cats.¹

As the city grew, the need for a physical location to house stray animals became apparent.

In 1968, the city leased a space at 2155 S.

Havana Street to serve as the city “pound.” This facility was always intended to be a temporary measure until a proper shelter could be constructed, yet it remained operational for 13 years, a testament to the perennial challenge of securing resources for animal welfare.²

The pivotal moment in the shelter’s physical history came in 1983 with the construction of the current facility at 15750 E.

32nd Ave..²

This was a significant step forward, providing Aurora with its first dedicated space for lost pets and facilitating adoptions.

However, it was a facility designed for its time, built to serve a city with a population of approximately 174,000 people.⁴

This single statistic is the anchor point for the crisis the shelter faces today.

While the building has undergone renovations, its fundamental footprint and capacity are products of an era when Aurora was less than half its current size.

Today, that same building is tasked with serving a sprawling metropolis of nearly 400,000 residents and their pets.³

Reflecting its broadening scope, the division’s name was formally changed from “Aurora Animal Care” to “Aurora Animal Services” in 2015.²

This was more than a semantic shift; it signified a conscious evolution from a simple care-and-containment model to a holistic, service-oriented approach to the community’s relationship with its animals.

The Mission: Balancing the Needs of People and Animals

The modern identity of the Aurora Animal Shelter is encapsulated in its official mission statement, a guiding principle that appears consistently across its public-facing materials: “to balance the needs of people and animals as we provide humane shelter, treatment and placement of animals and enhance and preserve the human-animal bond through education, outreach, adoptions and cruelty prevention”.²

An analysis of this mission reveals a multi-faceted and ambitious mandate:

• Humane Shelter, Treatment, and Placement: This is the core operational function—providing a safe haven, necessary medical care, and finding permanent homes for animals in need.
• Enhancing the Human-Animal Bond: This speaks to a more profound goal that transcends basic sheltering. It positions the organization as a facilitator of the positive relationships between pets and their owners.
• Education, Outreach, and Cruelty Prevention: These pillars represent the proactive, community-facing aspect of the mission. The shelter is tasked not just with reacting to the problem of homeless pets but with actively working to prevent it through public education and intervention.

This mission is aspirational and modern.

It reflects a contemporary understanding of animal welfare as an integral part of a healthy community.

Yet, the very ambition of this mission creates an inherent tension when set against the physical and logistical constraints the shelter operates under daily.

An Open-Admission Mandate in a Growing City

A critical and defining characteristic of the Aurora Animal Shelter is its status as a “full-service, open-admission animal shelter”.¹

This is not a self-imposed label but a fundamental aspect of its role as a municipal entity.

Unlike private, limited-admission rescues that can choose which animals to accept and manage their intake to maintain a “no-kill” status, an open-admission shelter is legally and ethically obligated to accept animals brought to its doors, particularly strays found within its jurisdiction.⁹

This mandate is the gear that grinds the expansive, modern mission against the reality of the undersized, 1983 facility.

The shelter cannot simply turn animals away when its kennels are full.

This legal and ethical obligation forces the organization into a perpetual state of crisis management.

The institutional development of Aurora Animal Services has been critically asymmetric: its mission, responsibilities, and the community’s expectations have expanded dramatically over four decades, while its core physical asset has remained fundamentally unchanged.

This schism between mandate and means is the source of the shelter’s most profound operational challenges.

Aurora Animal Shelter at a Glance
Official Name	Aurora Animal Shelter (a division of Aurora Animal Services)
Address	15750 E. 32nd Ave., Aurora, CO 80011 7
Phone	(303) 326-8280 11
Email	AnimalServicesShelter@auroragov.org 7
Hours of Operation	Monday, Wednesday-Friday: 10:30 am – 5:00 pmSaturday: 10:30 am – 4:00 pmClosed: Sunday, Tuesday 7
Official Mission Statement	“To balance the needs of people and animals as we provide humane shelter, treatment and placement of animals and enhance and preserve the human-animal bond through education, outreach, adoptions and cruelty prevention.” 2

The Daily Mission: A Comprehensive Overview of Services and Operations

The Aurora Animal Shelter operates as the central hub within a larger network of city-run animal services, each designed to address a different facet of the complex relationship between humans and animals in an urban environment.

The shelter’s daily operations reveal a sophisticated ecosystem of services and adaptive strategies, showcasing remarkable staff ingenuity in the face of immense logistical pressures.

These programs are not merely features but essential coping mechanisms that allow the shelter to fulfill its mission despite its core physical limitations.

More Than Adoptions: The Full Spectrum of Animal Services

While finding homes for animals is its most visible function, the shelter is part of a tripartite system of Animal Services provided by the city of Aurora.¹³

Understanding this structure is key to appreciating the full scope of its responsibilities.

1. Aurora Animal Shelter Services: This is the public-facing hub for animal care and placement. Its primary services include facilitating adoptions, managing lost and found pets, issuing pet licenses, coordinating volunteer efforts, and accepting online donations.¹³
2. Field Services: Operating as a distinct branch with its own contact number (303-326-8288), this division is responsible for public safety and enforcement in the community.¹³ Animal Protection Officers (APOs) respond to calls, enforce city ordinances related to animals, and manage interactions with local wildlife.
3. Veterinary & Behavioral Services: The shelter provides crucial in-house support for both animals in its care and the public. This includes providing necessary vaccinations, offering compassionate end-of-life services for pets, and disseminating behavioral tips to help owners manage their animals, thereby preventing surrenders.¹²

The Path to a Forever Home: Deconstructing the Adoption Process

The journey from shelter resident to cherished family member is governed by a carefully structured process designed to be both efficient and responsible.

The system incorporates several clever adaptations to navigate the challenges of the crowded facility.

Viewing and Meeting Animals: Prospective adopters can view available pets through online listings that are updated hourly, providing the most current information on an animal’s status.¹⁵

For those visiting in person, the shelter has implemented a unique solution to the problems of a crowded and stressful kennel environment: instead of allowing walk-throughs, all available animals are posted on an “Adoption Wall”.¹⁵

Interested parties can then request to meet a specific animal.

This system minimizes stress on the animals and allows for more controlled, positive interactions.

To further increase visibility and adoption rates, the shelter partners with local Petco and PetSmart stores to house some of its cats, and holds regular “First Fridays” adoption events at a local Petco.¹⁴

Requirements and Fees: The adoption process is managed on a first-come, first-served basis, with no holds or waiting lists for specific breeds, ensuring fairness.⁷

Adopters must be at least 18 years old and present a valid photo ID.

For dog adoptions, the shelter requires all members of the household, including any current dogs, to be present for a meet-and-greet to ensure compatibility.¹⁵

The process itself is streamlined, with the contract review taking approximately 20 minutes.¹⁵

The non-refundable adoption fees are tiered by age and species, with discounts available for senior citizens and military members, making adoption more accessible to different segments of the community.¹⁵

Adoption Process and Fee Schedule
Process Steps	1. View pets online or on-site “Adoption Wall.”2. Visit the shelter (first-come, first-served).3. Meet the pet (all family and current dogs must be present for dog adoptions).4. Complete adoption contract (approx. 20 minutes).5. Pay fee and take pet home. 7
Adoption Fees	Dogs:   Under 6 Months: $202   6 Months to 6 Years: $174   6+ Years (Senior): $156Cats:   Under 6 Months: $144   6 Months to 6 Years: $115   6+ Years (Senior): $74Rabbits, Birds, Small Mammals: $20 15
Discounts & Specials	Senior Discount: 50% off for residents 65+ (proof of age required).Military Discount: 50% off for active/retired military (proof of service required).Kitten Special: Adopt two kittens under 6 months for $200. 15

The Unsung Heroes: The Critical Role of Volunteers and Foster Caregivers

The shelter’s ability to function under immense pressure is critically dependent on two human-powered programs: its volunteers and its foster caregivers.

These are not auxiliary programs but essential pillars of the shelter’s operational strategy.

The Volunteer Program: The shelter explicitly states that volunteers are “critical” to its mission, providing thousands of animals each year with essential exercise, mental stimulation, love, and companionship.¹⁶

Volunteers are deeply integrated into daily operations, performing tasks that range from socializing with cats and dogs and implementing “brain games” for enrichment, to assisting at adoption events and providing administrative support.¹⁶

Testimonials from volunteers on platforms like Reddit show them taking an active role in walking dogs and sharing their photos online to increase their chances of adoption.¹⁷

Becoming a volunteer is a formal commitment; applicants must be 18 or older, go through an onboarding process with orientation and training, and commit to a regular weekly or biweekly shift.¹⁶

This structured approach ensures a reliable and trained corps of support staff.

The Foster Care Program: The foster program is framed in the most urgent terms possible: “Fostering saves lives.

Period”.²⁰

Its primary purpose is to create a crucial lifeline for the shelter by freeing up kennel space for other animals in need.

By placing animals in temporary homes, the program provides a reprieve from the stressful shelter environment, which is particularly important for the most vulnerable populations.

The program is designed to be accessible; the shelter provides all necessary supplies and covers all medical costs, removing financial barriers for caregivers.²⁰

Foster parents are needed for a variety of scenarios, including underage puppies and kittens who need to socialize, neonatal “bottle babies” requiring round-the-clock feeding, feral kittens who need to learn to trust people, animals recovering from medical procedures, and shy adult animals who are overwhelmed by the noise and chaos of the shelter.²²

A dedicated “Foster Hub” online portal and foster coordinators provide a robust support system for these vital caregivers.²¹

The intricate design of these operational systems reveals a deeper truth.

The shelter’s day-to-day functioning is a masterclass in adaptive strategy.

The no-walk-through kennel policy, the reliance on off-site adoption partners, the critical integration of volunteers into core tasks, and the life-saving framing of the foster program are all highly intelligent workarounds for the central, unsolvable problem of the physical building.

They are coping mechanisms born of necessity.

This very resilience, however, may inadvertently create a public perception that the situation is more stable and manageable than it truly Is. The smooth execution of these survival strategies can mask the underlying desperation, potentially diminishing the sense of public urgency required to rally support for a permanent, structural solution.

The Breaking Point: A Crisis of Capacity and Infrastructure

The Aurora Animal Shelter is an organization operating at the edge of its capabilities, strained by a crisis of capacity that is four decades in the making.

This is not a problem of mismanagement or lack of effort, but a simple and brutal mathematical reality: a facility built for a small city is now tasked with serving a major metropolis.

This chronic overcrowding has a profound and tangible cost, impacting the welfare of animals, the morale of staff, and the ability of the shelter to serve the community.

These local pressures are further exacerbated by national headwinds, including economic instability and a housing crisis, that are pushing animal shelters across the country to their breaking point.

A Facility Outgrown: The Statistical Reality of a 1983 Shelter in a Modern Metropolis

The core of the shelter’s crisis can be distilled into a single, stark comparison.

The facility was constructed in 1983 to serve a population of about 174,000 people.

Today, it serves a city of nearly 400,000.⁴

The infrastructure has not kept pace with this explosive growth.

The shelter contains only 52 large kennels and 12 smaller ones for dogs, with a total maximum capacity of around 65 to 80 dogs.⁵

This limited space is perpetually overwhelmed.

Official reports and news articles consistently describe the shelter as being “at capacity,” “full,” or operating at “90% to 95% capacity almost all of the time”.⁴

This is not a seasonal issue but a chronic state of being.

The operational consequences are severe.

Because the shelter has an open-admission mandate to protect public safety, it must prioritize space for incoming strays and animals involved in court cases.⁴

As a result, responsible pet owners seeking to surrender their animals due to unavoidable circumstances are often placed on a waitlist, as the shelter is forced to evaluate new intakes on a “case-by-case basis”.⁴

The Capacity Challenge in Numbers	Then (1983)	Now (Present Day)	National Context (2023)
City Population	~174,000 3	~400,000 3	N/A
Shelter Dog Capacity	Built for 1983 scale	~65-80 kennels 5	N/A
Typical Occupancy	N/A	90-95%+ 5	U.S. shelter population grew by ~250,000 28
Primary Surrender Drivers	N/A	Consistent with national trends	Economic & Housing Insecurity 28

The Human and Animal Cost of Overcrowding

The statistical crisis translates into real-world suffering for animals, staff, and the community.

For animals, a constantly overcrowded environment is intensely stressful, which can lead to the onset of illness and the deterioration of behavior, making them less adoptable.¹⁰

The physical environment itself is lacking, with limited and suboptimal outdoor play yards for dogs and a cat roaming area that is subject to the noise of the main lobby, preventing relaxation.²⁶

For the staff, the emotional burden is immense.

A journalistic investigation from 1990 provided a harrowing account of witnessing euthanasia at the Aurora shelter, describing the process as “ghastly” and noting the profound fear and angst of the animals.²⁵

While practices have evolved, the fundamental stress of managing life-and-death decisions in a space-constrained environment remains.

National experts confirm that these decisions come at a great personal cost to shelter workers, who are often unfairly “bullied and condemned” for circumstances beyond their control.³¹

The crisis also ripples out into the community.

It creates financial hardships for pet owners, as illustrated by the story of Radhika, a local resident who struggled to pay the impound fees to retrieve her lost dogs and was only able to do so with the help of a compassionate stranger at the shelter.⁴

The shelter’s high-profile struggles have also made it a target for scams, forcing it to issue public warnings about fraudulent letters and phone calls from individuals impersonating staff to solicit money.¹⁴

Navigating the National Headwinds: Economic and Social Pressures on Pet Ownership

Aurora’s challenges are not occurring in a vacuum.

They are a local manifestation of a nationwide crisis in animal welfare.

Across the United States, shelters are seeing a drastic increase in owner surrenders driven by powerful economic and social forces.²⁸

• Economic Pressures: Rising inflation and the increasing cost of veterinary care and pet supplies are forcing many families to make the heartbreaking decision to surrender their pets.²⁸
• Housing Insecurity: A tumultuous housing market is a primary driver of surrenders. Evictions, downsizing, and restrictive landlord policies—particularly those targeting large-breed dogs—are frequently cited as the reason owners must give up their animals.²⁸ Housing-related issues are the top reason for dog relinquishment nationally.²⁹
• Post-Pandemic Imbalance: The simple narrative of “pandemic puppies” being abandoned is incomplete. A more significant trend is that while intake numbers have climbed back to pre-pandemic levels, adoption rates have not kept pace.²⁸ This has led to an increased average length of stay for animals in shelters, exacerbating the capacity crisis and contributing to a nationwide shelter population increase of nearly a quarter-million animals in 2023 alone.²⁸

The shelter’s necessary and logical policy of prioritizing strays over owner surrenders creates a dangerous and unintended feedback loop.

When a responsible pet owner faces an acute crisis, such as an eviction, they cannot afford to wait on a long surrender waitlist.

Faced with an impossible choice, some owners may feel they have no option but to abandon their P.T. That animal, now a stray, becomes a top priority for intake at the shelter, consuming a precious kennel space and thereby lengthening the waitlist for the next owner in crisis.

This well-intentioned, public-safety-driven policy inadvertently incentivizes the very problem it seeks to manage: animals loose on the streets.

The case of Lotus, a dog who was adopted from the shelter only to be returned as a stray, with her new owner subsequently ignoring the shelter’s calls, could be a real-world example of this system failure.⁴

The owner may have attempted to do the right thing but found the system, crippled by its lack of space, unable to provide a timely solution.

Building the Future: The Vision for a New Aurora Animal Shelter

In response to the escalating, decades-long crisis of capacity, the city of Aurora has committed to a definitive, transformative solution: the construction of a new, state-of-the-art animal shelter.

This ambitious project, backed by a complex funding strategy and a clear vision for modern animal welfare, represents the single most important step the city can take to resolve the fundamental mismatch between its humane mission and its physical infrastructure.

The new facility is not envisioned as a mere upgrade but as a complete reimagining of what a municipal shelter can and should be.

Designing for a New Era: Blueprints for a State-of-the-Art Facility

After years of advocacy from staff, volunteers, and community members, the Aurora City Council has unanimously approved plans for a new shelter, with a projected opening in 2028.¹⁴

The design and scale of the new facility directly address the specific failures of the current building.

• Scale and Capacity: The proposed facility will be a 38,000-square-foot structure capable of housing up to 250 animals.²⁶ This represents a nearly four-fold increase in capacity compared to the current shelter’s 65-80 dog kennels, providing immediate relief from chronic overcrowding.
• Location: The new shelter will be constructed on a five-acre portion of a larger 15-acre city-owned parcel located just southeast of the existing facility, ensuring continuity of service in a familiar location.²⁶
• Modernized Features: The design incorporates best practices in modern animal sheltering. Crucially, it will feature separate spaces and ventilation systems for different animal populations, such as adoptable pets, strays on hold, and animals held for court cases. It will also include dedicated isolation wards for sick animals and expanded, modern veterinary areas. Finally, the plan calls for significantly improved indoor-outdoor access for both animals and staff, which is vital for enrichment and reducing stress.²⁶

The $51 Million Question: A Forensic Look at the Funding Strategy

The new shelter comes with a significant price tag, projected at a total cost of $51 million.²⁶

The city has assembled a multi-layered and sophisticated funding strategy to make the project a reality, with construction slated to begin in 2026 and last approximately 18 to 24 months.²⁶

The funding model demonstrates a strategic approach to municipal finance, leveraging complex instruments to move the project forward without placing an undue burden on taxpayers through a direct tax hike.

This approach, however, also introduces dependencies on market conditions and philanthropic support.

The project’s financial foundation can be seen as a three-legged stool: a combination of municipal funds, market-dependent financing, and private community support.

The stability of this stool relies on the strength of each leg; a significant change in interest rates or a downturn in charitable giving could impact the project’s budget or timeline, making it a high-stakes venture that requires both sound financial management and sustained community goodwill.

The breakdown of the funding sources is as follows ²⁶:

New Facility Funding Breakdown
Source	Amount
Certificates of Participation (COPs)	~$27,000,000
General Government Capital Impact Fees	$16,000,000
Capital Project Funds	$5,000,000
American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Funds	$2,900,000
Dedicated Estate Gift	$400,000
Total Projected Cost	~$51,000,000

The largest portion, approximately $27 million, will come from Certificates of Participation (COPs).

This is a form of lease-financing that allows the city to borrow funds for a major capital project without it being classified as municipal debt in the same way as general obligation bonds, thus often bypassing the need for a direct voter referendum.²⁶

The city is also actively seeking to close any potential funding gaps through community philanthropy, with high-profile fundraising events like the “Aurora Shines” charity golf tournament and the “Wine and Wags” fundraiser playing a crucial role in rallying public and corporate support.⁵

Beyond the Bricks: Projecting the New Shelter’s Community Impact

The new facility promises to be more than just a larger building; it is poised to fundamentally transform animal welfare in Aurora.

By resolving the core issue of overcrowding, it will allow the shelter to shift from a reactive, crisis-management posture to a proactive model of animal care and community service.³⁴

The impact will be felt across the board.

For animals, the larger, better-designed space will dramatically reduce stress, curb the spread of disease, and prevent the development of behavioral issues, making them healthier, happier, and ultimately more adoptable.

For the community, the shelter will finally be able to serve as a true safety net, accepting owner surrenders without punishingly long waitlists and breaking the dangerous feedback loop that can lead to animal abandonment.

For the dedicated staff, the new facility represents a monumental shift in their ability to do their jobs.

As Division Manager Anthony Youngblood expressed, the prospect of working without the constant constraints of space is profound: “To know there won’t be limits or restrictions is going to be amazing”.⁵

The Community’s Role: A Call to Action and Engagement

The future of animal welfare in Aurora hinges not only on the construction of a new building but also on the sustained engagement and support of the community it serves.

While the city has committed to a monumental financial undertaking, the success of the Aurora Animal Shelter ultimately depends on a partnership with its citizens.

Public perception, shaped by a mix of personal experiences and online discourse, plays a crucial role in this dynamic.

By understanding the pathways to impact—adoption, volunteering, fostering, and donating—the community can actively participate in securing a humane future for the city’s most vulnerable animals.

Voices from the Community: Testimonials, Reviews, and Perceptions

Public perception of the Aurora Animal Shelter is a complex tapestry woven from threads of praise, concern, and misunderstanding.

Online forums and social media are filled with positive testimonials from residents who have had wonderful adoption experiences, praising the dedicated staff and the life-changing companionship of their new pets.³⁶

One adopter, commenting on a volunteer’s post, wrote, “We got our dog from the Aurora animal shelter!! He’s the best, thank you for loving these dogs until they find their forever home”.¹⁸

The shelter has also earned recognition for its successful partnerships with national organizations like PetSmart Charities and for its heroic efforts in rescuing and rehoming more than 60 cats from a single hoarding case, a feat that drew praise from the community.³⁷

However, the discourse also reflects the challenges of running an open-admission facility in a crisis.

The term “kill shelter” appears in online discussions, often used by community members who are understandably distressed by the idea of euthanasia.³⁹

This perception, while rooted in genuine compassion, often exists without the full context of the shelter’s operational reality.

A significant communication gap appears to exist between the shelter’s necessary functions and the public’s understanding of them.

Expert commentary within the local community clarifies that all open-admission shelters in the Denver metro area, including Aurora, actually maintain high live-release rates that meet or exceed the 90% benchmark often used to define “no-kill” status.⁹

The difficult euthanasia decisions that must be made are a direct and tragic consequence of the unrelenting influx of animals into a space-constrained system, not a reflection of the staff’s compassion or effort.

Bridging this communication gap is as critical to the shelter’s long-term success as the new building itself.

The challenge is to help the community shift its focus from asking, “Why is the shelter euthanizing animals?” to asking, “How can we, as a community, provide the resources—through the new building, fostering, and adoptions—so the shelter doesn’t have to?”

Pathways to Impact: A Guide to Adoption, Volunteering, and Donations

For residents moved to action, there are four primary pathways to provide tangible support to the Aurora Animal Shelter.

Each one addresses a critical need and contributes directly to saving lives.

How to Help: A Guide to Community Support
Action	Description	Impact	How to Start
Adopt	Provide a permanent, loving home for a shelter animal.	Saves a life directly and frees up a kennel for another animal in need.	View available pets and learn about the process at AuroraAnimalShelter.org. 11
Foster	Offer temporary in-home care for animals who are too young, sick, or stressed for the shelter environment.	Saves a life by providing a healing environment and creating critical space in the shelter. The shelter provides all supplies and medical care.	Complete the foster application available on the city’s website. Contact: fosteranimal@auroragov.org or (303) 326-8295. 21
Volunteer	Donate your time on a regular basis to provide care, socialization, and enrichment for shelter animals.	Directly improves the quality of life for animals in the shelter, increases their adoptability, and supports overburdened staff.	Sign up via the Aurora Volunteer Portal. Contact: kwinogra@auroragov.org or (303) 326-8390. 16
Donate	Provide financial support or donate needed supplies from the shelter’s wish list.	Funds support medical care, facility improvements, and the campaign for the new shelter. Supplies provide daily enrichment and comfort.	Donate online via the city’s website or purchase items from the shelter’s Amazon Wish List. 3

Concluding Analysis: Securing a Humane Future for Aurora’s Animals

The Aurora Animal Shelter stands as a case study in institutional resilience.

For decades, it has been pushed to its absolute limit, tasked with fulfilling a compassionate, modern mission within the confines of a facility that is tragically obsolete.

Its dedicated staff and a legion of community volunteers and foster caregivers have demonstrated remarkable ingenuity, developing a sophisticated ecosystem of adaptive strategies to manage an untenable situation.

They have held the line against a rising tide of need driven by explosive population growth and national economic pressures.

But resilience has its limits.

The approval and funding of the new $51 million facility is a watershed moment, representing the city’s acknowledgment that the old model is broken beyond repair.

This new shelter is not a luxury; it is a long-overdue and essential piece of public infrastructure, as critical to a humane community as any other public service.

It is the definitive solution that will finally align the city’s physical capacity with its stated ethical commitments.

The path forward requires a partnership built on shared responsibility.

The city of Aurora, through its complex and ambitious funding plan, has made its commitment clear.

Now, the community’s role is more vital than ever.

The success of this new era in animal welfare will be measured not just in square footage or kennel capacity, but in the number of adoptions, the ranks of volunteers, the network of foster homes, and the philanthropic support that will bridge the gap between construction and a thriving, life-saving operation.

By embracing these pathways to engagement, the citizens of Aurora have the power to help close a difficult chapter in their city’s history and build a truly safe and humane future for its animals.

Works cited

1. Aurora Animal Shelter volunteer opportunities | VolunteerMatch, accessed August 5, 2025, https://www.volunteermatch.org/search/org1061319.jsp
2. About Us – City of Aurora, accessed August 5, 2025, https://www.auroragov.org/residents/animal_services/aurora_animal_shelter/about_us
3. Aurora Animal Shelter Celebrates Anniversary, accessed August 5, 2025, https://www.auroragov.org/news/whats_new/aurora_animal_shelter_celebrates_anniversary
4. Kennels full at Aurora Animal Shelter as more Colorado pet owners surrender dogs, accessed August 5, 2025, https://www.cbsnews.com/colorado/news/kennels-full-aurora-animal-shelter-colorado-pet-owners-surrender-dogs/
5. Aurora asks Coloradans for support with plan to replace 40-year-old animal shelter, accessed August 5, 2025, https://www.mdawalliance.org/aurora-asks-coloradans-for-support-with-plan-to-replace-40-year-old-animal-shelter/
6. Aurora asks Coloradans for support with plan to replace 40-year-old animal shelter, accessed August 5, 2025, https://www.cbsnews.com/colorado/news/aurora-replace-animal-shelter-colorado-community-donations/
7. Animal shelter in Aurora, CO – Adoptapet.com – Adopt a Pet, accessed August 5, 2025, https://www.adoptapet.com/shelter/85754-aurora-animal-shelter-aurora-colorado
8. Aurora Animal Shelter – JustServe, accessed August 5, 2025, https://www.justserve.org/auroraanimalshelter
9. Looking for recommendations of No Kill animal Shelters. : r/AuroraCO – Reddit, accessed August 5, 2025, https://www.reddit.com/r/AuroraCO/comments/1ggmoms/looking_for_recommendations_of_no_kill_animal/
10. Undervalued and Underfunded: The Quiet Crisis Facing Animal Shelters, accessed August 5, 2025, https://valleyhumane.org/blog/undervalued-and-underfunded-the-quiet-crisis-facing-animal-shelters/
11. Aurora Animal Shelter – Petfinder, accessed August 5, 2025, https://www.petfinder.com/member/us/co/aurora/aurora-animal-shelter-co255/
12. Aurora Animal Shelter – Homeless Services, accessed August 5, 2025, https://philadelphiaofficeofhomelessservices.org/shelters/homeless-shelters/aurora-animal-shelter/
13. Animal Services – City of Aurora, accessed August 5, 2025, https://www.auroragov.org/residents/animal_services
14. Aurora Animal Shelter, accessed August 5, 2025, https://www.auroragov.org/residents/animal_services/aurora_animal_shelter
15. Adoptions & Promotions – City of Aurora, accessed August 5, 2025, https://www.auroragov.org/residents/animal_services/aurora_animal_shelter/adoptions___promotions
16. Volunteers – City of Aurora, accessed August 5, 2025, https://www.auroragov.org/residents/animal_services/aurora_animal_shelter/volunteers
17. My Monday Morning Friends. I am a volunteer at Aurora Animal Shelter in Aurora CO. This is how I get to start my week. All dogs featured here are available for adoption. : r/rescuedogs – Reddit, accessed August 5, 2025, https://www.reddit.com/r/rescuedogs/comments/u6nbgq/my_monday_morning_friends_i_am_a_volunteer_at/
18. I am a volunteer dog walker at Aurora Animal Shelter in Aurora, Colorado. This is how I get to start my week. : r/rescuedogs – Reddit, accessed August 5, 2025, https://www.reddit.com/r/rescuedogs/comments/te5mdb/i_am_a_volunteer_dog_walker_at_aurora_animal/
19. Aurora Animal Shelter – Kitty Companion – JustServe, accessed August 5, 2025, https://www.justserve.org/projects/97866bbf-f004-42bf-be0d-26e9bde63001
20. About – Aurora Animal Shelter, accessed August 5, 2025, https://www.auroraanimalshelterfosterportal.org/services
21. Aurora Animal Shelter, accessed August 5, 2025, https://www.auroraanimalshelterfosterportal.org/
22. Foster – City of Aurora, accessed August 5, 2025, https://www.auroragov.org/residents/animal_services/aurora_animal_shelter/foster
23. FOSTER WHAT BECOME WHAT – CivicLive, accessed August 5, 2025, https://cdnsm5-hosted.civiclive.com/UserFiles/Servers/Server_1881137/File/Residents/Animal%20Services/Aurora%20Animal%20Shelter/Become%20a%20foster%20-%202018.pdf
24. Aurora Animal Services Foster Parent – Opportunity Details, accessed August 5, 2025, https://volunteer.samaritan.com/custom/507/opp_details/2608
25. PERRY: Dog daze —Aurora animal shelter overdue for reinforcements, even costly ones, accessed August 5, 2025, https://sentinelcolorado.com/opinion/perry-dog-daze-aurora-animal-shelter-overdue-for-reinforcements-even-costly-ones/
26. HELTER SHELTER: Aurora’s dire need for an animal shelter costing $51 million – Sentinel Colorado, accessed August 5, 2025, https://sentinelcolorado.com/metro/helter-shelter-auroras-dire-need-for-an-animal-shelter-costing-51-million/
27. Front Range animal shelters are filling up. The pandemic, vet shortage and housing restrictions might be to blame – Colorado Public Radio, accessed August 5, 2025, https://www.cpr.org/2022/09/30/front-range-animal-shelters-overcrowded-adoptions/
28. America’s animal shelters are overcrowded with pets from families facing economic and housing woes, accessed August 5, 2025, https://www.shelteranimalscount.org/americas-animal-shelters-are-overcrowded-with-pets-from-families-facing-economic-and-housing-woes/
29. Animal Shelter Statistics: State Rankings and Nationwide Data – Total.Vet, accessed August 5, 2025, https://total.vet/animal-shelter-statistics/
30. Critical Problems for Research in Animal Sheltering, a Conceptual Analysis – PMC, accessed August 5, 2025, https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9010978/
31. Our Nation’s Animal Shelters are in Crisis – BISSELL Pet Foundation, accessed August 5, 2025, https://www.bissellpetfoundation.org/news/shelter-crisis-2022/
32. Here’s what’s happening in animal shelters across the U.S. | Best Friends Animal Society, accessed August 5, 2025, https://bestfriends.org/no-kill-2025/animal-welfare-statistics
33. New report reveals shelter pet adoption data – DVM360, accessed August 5, 2025, https://www.dvm360.com/view/new-report-reveals-shelter-pet-adoption-data
34. City of Aurora moves forward with plans to build new, larger animal shelter – YouTube, accessed August 5, 2025, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GlDJEq8VCDA
35. New animal shelter could be coming to Aurora – Denver – 9News, accessed August 5, 2025, https://www.9news.com/video/life/pets/73-d0391acc-b7ef-4837-9077-0f7ab12929ea
36. Lifeline Puppy Rescue – Brighton, Colorado, accessed August 5, 2025, https://www.lifelinepuppy.org/
37. Celebrate Adopt a Shelter Dog Month | PetSmart Charities, accessed August 5, 2025, https://petsmartcharities.org/blog/celebrate-adopt-a-shelter-dog-month
38. Aurora Animal Shelter works to rehome 60 cats rescued from hoarding house, accessed August 5, 2025, https://sentinelcolorado.com/metro/aurora-animal-shelter-working-to-rehome-dozens-of-60-cats-rescued-from-hoarding-house/
39. Please recommend shelters to adopt a dog from – Denver – Reddit, accessed August 5, 2025, https://www.reddit.com/r/Denver/comments/132qxwo/please_recommend_shelters_to_adopt_a_dog_from/