Make an End of Year Gift
Before the Tax Laws Change!
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There is a lot of confusion with the new tax law and how if may affect you personally. The good news is, you can still minimize your 2017 tax bill while exercising your generosity to support your favorite charitable organizations.
The new law preserves the deduction for charitable contributions, but it also eliminates or limits other itemized deductions, while increasing the standard deduction. In the future, many taxpayers may find it more beneficial to take the standard deduction rather than itemize, even if they give to charity.
Either way, giving to the Cheyenne Animal Shelter is valuable for reasons that go far beyond the tax benefits. It is our shared loved for the animals in our care that give your contributions meaning.
We would encourage everyone to remember all of the reasons for supporting a charitable organization before making any major changes to their gifting plans. Contact your financial adviser with any questions you may have about the new tax laws and how a larger gift in 2017 may help!
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Shelter Brings new way of Reporting
Lost and Found Animals
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Each year the Cheyenne Animal Shelter returns about 1,000 lost pets to their owners. There are several ways the Shelter reunites families, and we have added one more way to do so.
The Cheyenne Animal Shelter has launched a
Lost and Found Form
on its website, which allows the community to upload a description and an image of the animal, as well as contact information. Adding this information to the website gives the public a real-time look at what information the Shelter receives every day.
"Losing a pet can be a scary experience. There's an urge to try to find your pet as quickly as possible." says Stephanie Bilbro, Cheyenne Animal Shelter Manager, "This is a way to connect the community to each other and give neighbors a quick and convenient source that will help get animals back to their families."
By posting lost and found animals on the website,
www.cheyenneanimalshelter.org
, it gives anyone an opportunity to see the reports. The posts will rotate every 30 days, and outdated information will be removed. This service is meant to be a community resource. The website does not replace the Shelter's lost form which still needs to be filled out if you lose your pet.
The Shelter encourages the community to use all resources available if you have lost or found a pet. If the Shelter is open, you can call the front desk at 307-632-6655. During non-business hours, give the After Hours Lost & Found Hotline a call at (307) 214-5779. Make sure to come and look to see if the Shelter has your pet as well. If your animal is not at the shelter fill out a lost card and provide a photo. We also encourage owners to use our Facebook group
After Hours Lost & Found.
We can often receive between 20-40 animals a day and typically have 200 animals in the lost files. By using all of these options, the information is shared not only to the Shelter but also to the community, giving your pet a better chance of being reunited with you.
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Stevie gets Another Chance at Life
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Stevie, a three-year-old cat, is now up for adoption and looking for a forever home, after overcoming a tough past.
Stevie started his life out as a lab-testing animal, but he eventually found his way to Kindness Ranch Animal Sanctuary. In many cases research animals have not been around other animals, played with toys or experienced any home-like environment. Stevie was able to be rehabilitated and adopted out to his forever family.
However, Stevie's happily-ever-after ended a little early. Stevie was hit by a car and sustained pretty severe injuries. His owners took him to the vet but sadly couldn't afford the medical bills the cat would be incurring.
When Stevie arrived at the Cheyenne Animal Shelter, he was in bad shape. His back-right-leg was broken to the point where it couldn't heal, and the decision was made that the leg needed to be amputated. Stevie made it through surgery and is now learning a new way of life. He's been living the "tripod life" for nearly a month and is learning that life is still great even on only three legs.
"I would love a new family who loves my new outlook on life as much as I do and wants to spend many years of loving together! Let's start the New Year off with a bang and take me to my "furrrrever" home today!" - Stevie
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Watch Some Fun Moments from 2017
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What We Would Like to See in 2018
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The Cheyenne Animal Shelter is always looking at the future - how can we save more lives, how can we improve the lives of the animals in our care and how can we improve our relationship with you? In 2018 we would like to see several changes! Here's a look at a few of our goals for the new year:
- Open our Neonatal Kitten Ward and expand our foster family base
- Grow our volunteer program, allowing more exercise and socialization for our animals
- Work towards creating more opportunities for the community to get involved in Shelter activities
- Increase offsite adoption events
- Obtain a small barn to help house our more "exotic" animals such as pigs, goats, etc. *Bonus - this could potentially double as a training arena.
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Expand our behavior program to include more focused training, including utilizing agility training equipment. Our goal for this would include a covered, possibly enclosed area.
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2017 has been a wonderful year! Since January 1st, we have adopted out 2,574 animals. 1,198 of those adoptions were cats, 1,185 dogs have been adopted and 191 other critters. Thank you Cheyenne for welcoming these animals into your homes!
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Total: 169
Cats: 88
Dogs: 70
Critters: 11
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Thank you from the
Cheyenne Animal
Shelter Board!
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By Lauri Julian, Board Member & Education Committee Chair, Cheyenne Animal Shelter
This month, the Cheyenne Animal Shelter is celebrating its 14th anniversary in the facility at 800 Southwest Drive. It is with the support of our generous donors, caring staff, dedicated volunteers and faithful adopters that the Shelter continues to thrive. D
onors come in many forms, from providing the necessary funds to donating pet food and other supplies. Volunteering opportunities include fostering, animal care, dog walking, retail store, admin., and more. The
Shelter Board recognizes all these contributions, offering our sincerest appreciation and a look into the past year.
Achievements despite challenges
In FY 2017, the Shelter placed 2,671 animals into loving homes and returned 1,182 animals to their owners. Along with thousands of cats and dogs, we take in hundreds of various critters. There is staff at the Shelter every day of the year committed to keeping the facility clean and healthy. The Shelter is an open intake facility. That means we don't turn animals away; we strive to save every life. We have a large facility, but sometimes it is not enough. We took in over 5,300 animals last year and our current pace for the 2018 fiscal year has not slowed. An annex/barn to house more animals (chickens, pigs, etc.), may be in our future. Also, we are considering a large trailer to help with hoarding cases and off-site events.
Our full time veterinarian and her staff have spayed/neutered nearly 1,000 animals this year and provided medical treatment, vaccinations, other surgeries, and medications for the thousands of animals in our care. Many come to us in poor health, especially in hoarding cases. We must house, feed, and provide medical attention and emotional support to these animals who sit in the Shelter for months waiting for their day in court. The average cost per dog/per day is $48.50 which can total >$140,000, as in one recent case.
It is very expensive to operate the Shelter. During the winter, the monthly power bill can jump to $9,000/month. Staff and volunteers work constantly to raise funds for operations and facility improvements. A majority of the Shelter's income is from donations, fundraisers like our upcoming Fur Ball (April 14, 2018), and CAS Foundation support. The Shelter is not a department of the City. We have contracts with the City and County for animal control and shelter services, but together, this covers less than half of the Shelter's operating costs. Due to City budget cuts, our contract was reduced, but we did not cut the services provided. Therefore, we rely heavily on donors and appreciate everything they do.
Our dedicated Animal Control Officers (ACOs) are animal trackers, cruelty investigators, roadkill control, emergency animal medical responders, and more. On average, they respond to 15-20 calls/day, or 5,000 calls/year, in the City of Cheyenne and all of Laramie County. ACOs are called for many reasons: an alligator, mountain lion, owl and other wildlife, along with domestic animals. They do it all!
The holidays are upon us - an important time for giving - for more information on volunteering, fostering, donating and/or adopting, please visit:
http://www.cheyenneanimalshelter.org/
. You make all the difference in helping us serve as a premier animal care facility.
The Shelter Board wishes you very Happy Holidays and we thank you for your continued support!
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Thinking about making a donation? It's easy!
Drop items off at 800 Southwest Drive or donate now.
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| Sponsor of Critter Camp & Shelter Medical Fund:
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Cheyenne Animal Shelter | 307.632.6655 |
http://www.caswy.org
800 Southwest Drive
Cheyenne, WY 82007
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Copyright © 2017. All Rights Reserved.
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