Cooper is a ten-year-old golden retriever with a graying muzzle and a tail that never stops wagging. He belongs to Phyllis, who lives alone and with a disability in her retirement. Cooper is her constant companion — the one who follows her from room to room, keeps her company through long Wyoming winters, and gives her a reason to get up every morning.
This fall, Phyllis brought Cooper to our Community Pet Health Fair at Halladay Subaru. It had been years since his last vaccines. Not because she didn’t care — Cooper means everything to her — but because on a fixed income, a vet bill can mean choosing between her dog and her groceries.
When our veterinary team examined Cooper, they found more than overdue shots. He had infections in both ears — the kind that start small and become painful and expensive when left untreated. Our team cleaned his ears, brought his vaccines up to date, and sent him home with the medication he needed to heal. Phyllis walked out with her best friend healthy, protected, and right where he belongs: at home with her.
Cooper was one of 274 pets vaccinated and microchipped for free that day.
Because of you, Cheyenne Animal Shelter is there for families like Phyllis’s.
Many people think of CAS as the place pets go when they have nowhere else. We are that — the only full-service animal shelter in our area. But we are also where families turn so their pets never have to come to us in the first place. Last year, CAS served nearly 8,000 animals, including 1,100 low-cost spay/neuter surgeries for the public and vaccinations or microchips for 3,100 more. Every one of those services is subsidized, and every one keeps a pet healthy and a family together.
None of this happens alone. It happens through partners like Halladay Subaru and the ASPCA, through volunteers and foster families, and through donors like you who stand with us year after year. You are part of this community’s safety net.
Right now, that safety net is being tested. CAS is serving a record number of animals, and the need in our community keeps growing. At the same time, I have to be direct with you: donations this year have not kept pace.
Our End-of-Year goal is $240,000, and reaching it is essential to carrying CAS through this year. Even with it, we face a half-million-dollar deficit — drawing down the reserves that let us respond when a crisis walks through our doors.
Scaling back these services is not a savings. It is a cost our community pays: in pets who go unvaccinated, litters that are never prevented, and people like Phyllis forced to make devastating choices.
A gift of $130 spays or neuters and fully vaccinates one pet. Please give today and help us reach our goal by December 31.
Because of you, Cooper is home. Because of you, Phyllis isn’t facing hard choices alone. And because of you, CAS will be here for the next family who needs us.
Thank you for standing with us.
With deep gratitude,
Britney Tennant,
Cheyenne Animal Shelter CEO
