About Animal Services

Our mission is to enforce animal ordinances that protect the safety and welfare of the people and pets of Mesa County. We collaborate with animal welfare agencies to re-home pets and to provide community education promoting responsible pet ownership.

Residents and pets living together harmoniously. Every pet owner is a responsible owner and every pet has a humane home.

Mesa County funds Mesa County Animal Services to provide animal control enforcement that addresses public safety, public health and animal welfare issues.  Conversely, humane organizations are largely funded by donations. These organizations focus on adopting displaced pets and providing education so that the animal/human bond is strengthened and pet overpopulation is reduced.  In order to make the best use of donations and tax dollars, it is essential for both animal control and humane organizations to work together to provide the level of animal services expected by Mesa County residents.

Combining resources with other shelters ensures that Mesa County taxpayers receive the level of care they expect from their local animal shelter without having a negative impact on operations. This partnership is a collaborative effort in Mesa County that has grown to include Roice Hurst Humane Society, Cats League and Assistance of the Western Slope (CLAWS) and other rescue organizations, locally and across Colorado.

Western Colorado Animal Resources (WeCAR) has approximately thirty members including humane societies, animal control agencies, animal welfare foundations and veterinarians across the western slope of Colorado. WeCAR has identified the following areas as a focus for its members:

• Decreasing Unnecessary Euthanasia
• Uniform Tracking of Statistics 
• Increasing Resources and Capacity
• Emergency Response
• Regional Training

Grand Rivers Humane Society was formed with the dual purpose of rehoming Mesa County displaced pets and reducing pet over population. Their mission is focused on re-homing and assisting with the care of displaced animals specifically housed at Mesa County Animal Services.

Due to the partnership of local organizations, euthanasia of healthy/adoptable animals has been eliminated. While we will continue to work together to increase services that will reduce euthanasia of those animals needing behavior or medical rehabilitation, the progress made has been rewarding.