Table Mountain Animal Center is Getting a Makeover

The new and improved facility is now Foothills Animal Shelter!

"Going the extra mile to save lives"

by Deb Dempsey
photo by Jennifer Strickland

When I think of a traditional city or county animal shelter, I almost get tears in my eyes. I envision rows of barking dogs and frightened cats lined up in tiny cages with dates on their cards. I automati ­cally assume that unless it's a "no-kill" shelter, these animals have specified euthanasia dates scheduled, and spend their days behind bars, with little chance of being adopted.

But one visit with Jennifer Strickland, Community Relations Manager at Table Mountain Animal Center, changed my mindset. I'd been to this shelter dozens of times before"”dropping off donations of food, towels, and blankets or walking the rows looking for dogs that my cus ­tomers have lost. But I'd never taken the time to learn the inner workings of this tiny little animal shelter that does so many big things.    

Who Do They Serve?

Table Mountain Animal Center (TMAC) is located in Jefferson County, Colorado, and is an open-admission, quasi-governmental facility that accepts animals from the entire Denver metro area"”including the 9 municipalities it partners with through animal con ­trol. No animals in need (including the much-maligned bully breeds) are turned away, and TMAC often receives animals outside the normal shelter realm, in ­cluding peacocks, snakes, rabbits, pigs, roosters, and even an alligator"”who was promptly transferred to a sanctu ­ary where he could live out the rest of his life in peace. TMAC has a 74 percent adoption rate"”higher than other metro shelters and way above the depressing national average adoption rate, which according to the Humane Society of the United States is 50 percent. TMAC is also in the enviable position of attract ­ing 30 new volunteers every month without any active recruitment.    

How Do They Do It?

Their 30 employees and nearly 300 vol ­unteers do amazing things with their minuscule annual budget of approxi ­mately 1.5 million dollars. More than 10,000 animals pass through the door every year. In comparison, according to their online annual report, the well-known Denver Dumb Friends League spent more than 11 million dollars pro ­cessing approximately 26,000 animals. But TMAC does more than process ani ­mals with that small amount of money. The shelter prides itself on its unique programs for both the animals and the community.

What Programs Do They Offer?

Perhaps the most impressive program of all is their PHAT (Psychology, Health & Training) program. This unique ani ­mal enrichment program was created for dominant breeds and for those dogs who need further guidance to be placed up for adoption. These two categories tend to suffer most within the shelter environment. At any one time there are 10 to 15 dogs paired with 15 specially-trained volunteers in this program. Each dog receives a two-mile walk, five times a week, wearing a gentle leader. The dogs are exposed to other walkers, dogs, and bicycles. This mental and physical training helps prevent kennel craze and results in an 80 percent adoptability rate for dogs placed in this program with no specific timeframe required for their adoption. Some have stayed as long as a year before getting adopted.

Last year TMAC placed 1,100 animals in foster care and currently has 150 active foster homes.   . The shelter partners to Foothills Animal Shelter. The new and better digs and changing its name with retail pet-supply stores in its off-30,000 square foot facility will be more site program, resulting in over 1,100 than double the size of the current animals each year getting adopted via building, which is crowded, inadequate, mobile adoptions. And TMAC has firm and very outdated. The design and floor   relationships with some of the breed-specific rescue groups in the area. When a purebred dog comes into the facil ­ity that would be better served through the rescue group, a call is placed to the group to alert them of the potential. All this serves to create more time and space for animals in need.

Because the shelter was built in 1976 as a dog pound without medical facilities, TMAC was forced to send its animals out to various Veterinarian Clinics for spay, neuter, and additional medical ne ­cessities. To change all that, in May of 2007, the shelter launched its Surgical Utility Vehicle (S.U.V.), offering com ­munity-wide spay and neuter clinics for animals under 60 pounds in addition to caring for the shelter animals' needs. The S.U.V. also offers low-cost vaccina ­tions and microchipping to all Jeffco County pet parents.      

Where Are They Going?

Table Mountain Animal Center is about to undergo some very major, exciting changes this year. In mid-summer, the shelter will be moving to much bigger plan of Foothills Animal Shelter pro ­vides larger and more comfortable ar ­eas for animals during their temporary stay, with better ventilation systems to minimize the spread of illness. An open room for a cat colony will feature natu ­ral lighting and multiple levels for the cats to jump and play. Many yard areas will exist for volunteers to increase the amount of dogs that can be exercised and trained at one time. And the new building will also allow Foothills Animal Shelter to significantly improve current services and provide more on-site, cost-effective medical care, thereby increas ­ing the number of spays, neuters, and vaccinations.    

But perhaps best of all, the new Foot ­hills Animal Shelter will increase animal adoptions and community involvement. "We are thrilled to be moving into a facility that will showcase our value as a true community resource," explains Jennifer Strickland, Community Rela ­tions Manager. "What some may forget is that besides helping animals, we help people too."

While Jefferson County generously pro ­vided part of the initial funding for this new facility, the shelter is still in the midst of a major capital funding cam ­paign, needing an additional 1.5 mil ­lion dollars for the construction of the shelter. Donations are always graciously accepted through the shelter's website, www.foothillsanimalshelter.org.    

For more information or to make a donation:
Foothills Animal Shelter, 580 McIntyre St. Golden, CO 80401