DENVER — A pilot program has been launched to help keep pets in their homes and out of shelters.
Denver 7 is following up after lawmakers passed a bill capping the amount of pet rent and deposits landlords can charge their tenants.
"It can be a scary experience for an animal to come through the shelter," said Aidan McMorrow, a community engagement administrator with Denver Animal Protection.
While the staff at the Denver Animal Shelter takes care of every animal that comes through their doors, they'll be the first to tell you, that is not where pets belong. They belong at home with their family.
"A shelter isn't a long term solution for that animal's housing," he said.
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The top reasons for animal surrenders at the Denver Animal shelter are: Too many pets, owner issues, no time to care for the pet, had to move and issues with landlord.
Both of the housing related issues have grown in numbers over the years. In 2023, there were 51 surrenders because of an issue with a landlord and 130 surrenders because the owner needed to move and couldn't keep the pet. In 2025, there were 109 landlord issue type surrenders and 208 moving type surrenders.
The shelter notes that sometimes people who surrender animals don't give a reason or a reason may not be captured.
"We heard from a lot of people that they could not live in the Center City with their family, as in their pet, because of the cost of a pet deposit," said Denver District 10 Councilmember Chris Hinds.
Hinds said a staff member recently left his office, so he used the funding left over from that vacancy as a possible solution.
"This is an opportunity for us to to be innovative as a city, to do a small test, and see if it works," said Hinds.
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The pilot program would give up to $300, on a first-come, first-served basis, to 100 District 10 pet owners.
"We think about the cost of this program, it is 0.0000007% of our annual budget, and we're doing it once," said Hinds.
McMorrow finds the value well worth the cost.
"When people have thoughts about, 'Why are we spending money on something like this?' We have been spending money on animal welfare in one way or another, for who knows how long at this point. It's something that's culturally important to a lot of people, that we take care of our animals," McMorrow said. "If that means giving an owner some more support to keep them with that animal, I think that's something we should all be in support of."
Once a pet parent is picked for the deposit help, they are required to visit the shelter to receive all necessary vaccines and register their pet with the city, free of cost.
The data and results of the pilot program will be independently collected and reviewed by the University of Denver's Graduate School of Social Work and their Institute for Human Animal Connection.
Supporters hope the pilot will keep pets out of the shelter, and in homes with their families.
To apply for the assistance, pet owners need to currently live in District 10. Contact Hinds' Office or the Community Economic Defense Project, who is managing the applications, to apply.
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