Denver Animal Shelter

DAS is one of the biggest and nicest animal shelters in the U.S. The facility is kept very clean and has pretty amazing features (skylights, heated floors, all kennel areas have runs for dogs to play and cats have rooms to play in). The staff and volunteers really work hard to keep the animals healthy and find them the best homes. Their adoption fees are really reasonable as well. Check them out next time you’re looking at add a new furry family member!

Friendly, quick, and efficient service in one morning. A great selection offered. We are thrilled we picked the perfect dog for us almost one year ago. We had the opportunity to spend some time with him at the shelter. We tested his reaction to us, other people, and other animals. He’s brought so much joy to our home! He is loving and sure gets it in return. We are especially grateful that Denver Animal Shelter adopts to out of state residents as we live in rural Nebraska and adoptions here are limited. Perfect Match! Thank you so much for existing as a terrific animal shelter! God bless you all!

Great staff very friendly and went out of their way to help me answer questions. And took me and showed me some of the dogs I was interested in. I put a hold on a couple of strays and WILL adopt when they are available.
its a good easy adoption expience if you are positive and pleasant with a busy hard working staff. because of funding they have to ask you take some animals to ddf who have more resources. instead of griping why not raise money for the shelter or volunteer to help.

We came here to drop off a (well behaved, apparently healthy) stray that we had found on 7÷12÷15. They refused to take her!!! This makes us question their purpose in the care about the welfare of animals? So, why are you there? What is the mission of the Denver Animal Shelter? I have to inquire because if you do NOT help strays then what do you do? Other than paying a clearly «uncaring» and rude woman working reception who’s attitude is an ISSUE and should NOT be working with animals at the very least — she demonstrated she does not give a damn. So does anyone else there? If your receptionist doesn’t care and that is the 1^st person someone interacts with, what does that say about the rest of the organization?!?
Expect a follow up!
Follow up 7÷13÷15
The following day we took her to a different shelter and with a quick scan surprise … she was chipped. They were in the process of reconnecting her with her owners within 10 minutes.
Awesome fail Denver Animals Shelter. Had that nasty woman scanned the chip, we would have dropped her off at home that night.

The sole purpose of coming here was to drop off a stray that we had found. After calling the sheriff’s office and getting no where after a couple of hours, we got a hold of the Denver Animal Shelter and we brought the dog on in and they took care of him.
I called back a couple weeks later and they couldn’t tell me what happened to him which I was kind of bummed out about.

I adopted a corgi/​chiuhuahua mix named Corey who I changed to Yadi. This guy has been the best! I can’t say enough good things about this place. Friendly staff, clean facilities, and overall just a great experience. We’ll be using them for a lifetime!

Wow, what can I say. My fiancé’s mom adopted a wonderful lab mix from this place. When we got home we noticed the her nail was ripped and bleading. Took her to the shelter 30 minutes after the adoption to have their «vet» look at it. We were told that they would do nothing and then criticized for not taking her to our vet. This was on saturday. Today, she goes to the vet and come to find out has stomach worms and a possibly broken toe. This place knowingly adopts out sick and injured animals. I’m just thankful we got her before these people had one more minute to let her be in pain and ill.

What a great shelter. I highly recommend any one looking to adopt to visit this shelter. It is clean and beautiful. I adopted a great dog in January!

After visiting the rocky mountain feline rescue coming to this place seemed like a joke. There wasn’t anybody in the cat area playing with our giving attention to the cats. When I walked in all I had to do was sign in and the woman at the front desk asked me to grab a piece paper and a pencil to write down the names of the cats I’m interested in and bring the paper back to her rather than have someone introduce me to the cats and act even the smallest amount like they cared about where these cats were going. So disappointed and sad for these poor cats.

The facility is beautiful, new and clean. I love the sparkly dog statue in the front! I’ve been here several times and in order to see an animal you have to sign in and once you do that you take a sheet of paper and head back. Then you select which animal you want to see and head back to the front where the front desk person alerts the caretakers in the back who then gets the animal and you meet them in the back, again. Kind of confusing and excessive, right? I’m sure there is a better system, but I would imagine that they do this for your safety and and animals safety. The staff in the back, taking care of the animals have always been very kind and nice. You can go outside with the dog (I’ve only come to look at the dogs, so the cat process might be different) or play with him in a little room.
I actually got my dog here last summer, we went through the process above when selecting him. Once we picked him, the application process was pretty simple. I think all they needed was proof of residency and payment. Unfortunately he wasn’t neutered so we had to leave him for a few more days, which was heartbreaking — so before you fall in love with a dog, make sure he or she is fixed or prepare to leave them. They also come with their vaccines. I think we paid around $ 130 for our dog with his vaccines and neuter.
When we came back to pick him up, the vet tech or whomever she was wasn’t very nice. She literally said «I’ve been doing this all day and I don’t want to explain it again» regarding the special care we needed to take because of his recent surgery. My dog was a little loopy, she literally just plopped him into my arms. Fortunately we did come home with a packet on how to take care of his stitches and what to look out for :) They also give you a list of veterinarians in the city who offer a free wellness visit.
If I could, I would rescue all of the dogs and despite their less than efficient pet selection process, I would recommend them because there are SO many dogs and cats who need homes!

This shelter is a nice facility and well maintained. The staff is helpful and genuinely cares for the welfare of the animals in their care. All in all, a great place to adopt a pet.

I started volunteering at DAS because of the awesome animal control officer that helped me out when I found a stray dog. He was super friendly and obviously really loved animals, and even made the effort to call me and tell me the owner came to pick the dog up. The animals are all really well taken care of and I love how clean and bright the facility is… the only bad part about volunteering is that I can’t take all of the dogs with me! Anyone looking to adopt on the weekends… bear with the shelter staff as there’s always a million people coming to adopt (which is a good thing!) that keep them very busy. I see that some people have complained about rude staff, and while that hasn’t been my experience, I hope that you can give them the benefit of the doubt and brush it off. They all do love the animals and want the best for them — everyone has some bad moments at work =)

Not a pleasant experience. The woman at the front desk was rude, flinging a clipboard at us, telling us we had to sign in and pick out the dogs we wanted to see before we could be let in. I appreciate the facility not wanting to make the dog’s nervous, but we were so put off that we walked right back out.

Just moved to Denver and needed to get my dog her license. Annette was lovely –you can tell it was a by of a rough day, but she was kind and took time to walk me through the process. I appreciate all the help and recommend coming here for this kind of help! Thanks Annette, my Ava (pooch) thanks you!

Just took home a little aussie cattle dog mix pup a few days ago and love her more than most humans. My experience went well with the staff and visiting the animals until I found the one. The majority of workers/​volunteers were more than happy to help. Of course there were a few that seemed agitated but you’ve got to consider they work with anxious people and animals all day. The facility is as clean as it gets shelter wise and the animals look like they’re getting exceptional treatment under their circumstances.

After my little heathen escaped the yard yesterday, I was relieved to find him on the Denver Animal Shelter website. Safe and sound and in the pound. I called the shelter immediately (within 10 minutes of his listing going up) and was told that the shelter was closed and that my dog would have to stay overnight. Humph. Okay. Noon on a Sunday, figures.
I go to pick him up this morning and find him in a nice clean facility, with a bed with a blanket and a bowl of water right next to him. They fed him a little food and kept him safe for the night. They also took the liberty of giving him several shots he already had. Annoying, but I get it.
I go to pay and the lady «gives me a break» by not citing me for him not having a collar on with a registered tag. Seriously?! He just had jaw surgery. He can’t wear a collar. Whatever. I had to pay for some metal tag that is WAY too huge to ever go on his neck, for the boarding fees and for his lovely new shots. $ 100 later, I can’t help but hate this place a little.
I do appreciate them keeping my dog safe and putting him in a nice clean area though, so we won’t be friends per say, but three stars says this place is alright. They just REALLY dole out the punishment on the owners though. Like I said, I get it, but jeez.

This shelter is kinda weird. I’ve visited a few times in the process of searching for a cat to adopt, and I’ve never had an experience here that left me with warm fuzzies. The people at the desk always seem a little pissed to have to help anyone, or even look up.
The hallways are oddly dark, and they have signs up about conserving energy, but it’s depressing and eerie to walk down a darkened hallway with little faces imprisoned behind glass just staring out at you. They never seem to have very many animals, it’s kind of strange. Usually about a third of their cages are full, which I suppose might be a good thing… I guess animals are getting adopted?
The dog section is a little bit brighter, but they tend to have some pretty aggressive dogs here often. I doubt they get adopted. Still the facilities here are clean, it doesn’t smell, and that’s about it. Trips here are quick, and now that we’ve found our cat at Foothills Animal Shelter, I don’t have to go back to this weird, dark, cavernous, depressing shelter.
Maybe you’ll have better luck?

Clean, organized and it doesn’t smell like a zoo (unlike the other animal shelter in Denver). We were thinking about adopting a cat or dog and decided to take a look at DAS. They don’t have as many pets as Maxfund, but all the animals are cute, tame. I appreciate the fact that they give the animal a relatively big area to move around. I mean they all have to be in some sorts of canals or rooms, but the space is bigger and more humane.

We visited this shelter a few weeks ago, looking for a dog. The facility looks nice and pretty new. The employees were friendly and explained what we needed to do to look at and possibly adopt a dog. There weren’t very many dogs there, since it was the end of the day. We did look at one, but it wasn’t the one for us. The tech who took the dog to us was helpful, and was nice when we told her that we decided not to adopt the dog.
If we decide to look for another pet in the future, we will keep the DAS on the list of places to look.

I just returned from the new DMAS building on Bayaud. As an involved dog rescuer who has visited the old facility so many times, I nearly cried when I drove up to their new location. What a beautiful building, and the addition of «Sun Spot,» the 25 foot canine sculpture, blew me away and makes this shelter one of the most memorable I’ve ever visited.
Inside, Sun Spot’s collar hangs in the Adoption’s entrance foyer. For a $ 5 donation, you can commemorate a pet’s adoption date from DMAS, or the date of their passing, by adding an engraved dog tag to Sun Spot’s collar.
I visited the holding kennels for dogs waiting on rescue. They were clean, with no doggie smell or accidents. I must have gotten lucky today because most of the dogs I saw were in good spirits. They must be happy about the new digs, too. The kennels are spacious and the colors bright and cheerful.
The staff was super cheerful and helpful today, too. I think the new facility has given a new life to DMAS!