Socially Conscious Sheltering: Partnering with Communities to Build Humane and Sustainable Systems
Written by: Britney Tennant, Cheyenne Animal Shelter CEO
As I write this final guest editorial, I feel overwhelmed with gratitude — for the community that has embraced the Cheyenne Animal Shelter’s mission, for the thousands of voices who have joined us in conversation over the past year, and for every hand that has helped strengthen the bonds between people and the animals we love.
Over the past year, I’ve had the privilege of sharing both the challenges and the triumphs of community-centered sheltering. We’ve talked about making room for every paw in our public policies and spaces, recognizing that pets are family and that community design should reflect that truth. We’ve explored how shelters can be more than safe havens for displaced animals — how they can serve as hubs of learning, connection, and civic partnership that enrich the whole community. We’ve highlighted stories of shelter programs that reach into classrooms, support struggling families, and work collaboratively to share training and operational experience with other organizations doing similar work. These aren’t just animal welfare initiatives — they are community well-being investments that strengthen empathy, resilience, and social cohesion in all corners of our lives.
The Cheyenne Animal Shelter has served this community for over fifty years, and through that time it has grown from humble beginnings into a large and deeply rooted institution committed to enhancing the dignity and quality of life for both animals and people. Our mission — to advance compassion, respect, and education — reflects a belief that no community is truly healthy unless it honors every individual who calls it home, whether they walk on two legs or four.
Over the past year, the community has shown up in remarkable ways. We’ve seen long lines of local residents bring their pets to expanded vaccine and spay/neuter clinics, demonstrating the deep value people place on preventative care and shared responsibility for community health. We’ve watched adoptive families open their hearts and homes to animals who once knew only uncertainty. And we’ve witnessed volunteers, civic groups, and partner organizations extend the Shelter’s reach, amplifying its impact far beyond the walls of our facility.
In the face of rising demand for services and the very real costs of compassionate care, end-of-year giving becomes more than a tradition — it’s a catalyst for possibility. It supports life-saving medical care, humane education programs, outreach efforts, and the everyday work of creating a safer, more inclusive community for all. It ensures that in the days ahead, when the unexpected happens or when a struggling family reaches out for help, we can be ready — as a community, together.
This moment also invites reflection on the broader movement we’ve been part of advocating: Socially Conscious Sheltering. Socially Conscious Sheltering is a partnership between animal shelters and their communities to create humane, accountable, and sustainable systems of care. The potential here is powerful. It means shifting how we think about shelter work: from reactive and siloed, to integrated, intentional, and data-driven. It means building systems that support the realities of our lives; the facts that people and animals live, love, and thrive together. And that the support needed to sustain that quality of life varies from community to community, and requires local leadership and action to build.
My belief in that potential — and in this community’s capacity to realize it — remains unwavering. I have been humbled by the thoughtful feedback, the shared stories, the questions, the concerns, and most of all, the support that you — the people of Cheyenne and Laramie County — have brought to these conversations. This work belongs to all of us, and it thrives when we act together.
To every reader who welcomed these columns, who thought deeply about what they mean for our community, who volunteered time or offered support — thank you. Your attention, your generosity, and your compassion are what make this community a place where lives are changed for the better every single day.
Please join us in supporting work that ensures every life in our community has the dignity, care, and opportunity it deserves — now and in the years to come.
Read Britney’s 2025 Columns
