Pueblo animal shelter open for intakes

Pueblo’s animal shelter is finally reopening for intakes Wednesday after being shut down in late March.

The Humane Society of the Pikes Peak Region was awarded a 90-day contract with the city and county of Pueblo. The group said as of noon Wednesday, the Pueblo shelter would be open for intakes.

The shelter is located at 4600 Eagleridge Place in Pueblo.

Granted, a severe storm is moving in, so only make a trip if you need to and the weather allows. You can call 719-302-8711 for more information on the shelter’s operation.

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It is now official — after a little more than three months, the Humane Society of the Pikes Peak Region will be back in Pueblo to run the city and county’s animal services.

Tuesday morning, Pueblo County Commissioner voted to approve a 90-day temporary contract with HSPPR. This comes right after a unanimous vote from Pueblo City Council Monday night to approve the same contract.

This all comes after the previous vendor was forced to surrender its license by the Colorado Department of Agriculture. PAWS for Life took over operations at the animals shelter 3 months back, and an investigation found that staff mistreated animals and withheld records from inspectors.

“I am so excited we get to come back to Pueblo,” said Jan McHugh-Smith, the President and CEO of the Humane Society of the Pikes Peak Region. McHugh-Smith tells KRDO she never imagined they’d be back in Pueblo, let alone so fast.

“We’ve always been here for the people in Pueblo and their animals. We get to come back to our organization and provide the services that this community really needs and deserves,” she said.

HSPPR is asking the public for patience as well. Staff will be returning to the shelter tomorrow and opening at noon, but in a limited role. The shelter needs to be restocked, and add new caging. However, animal law enforcement will be available from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., and people can drop off animals and strays if they wish to do so.

Monday night, the city council also got rid of the Pueblo Animal Protection Act, or PAPA, during an emergency vote to amend the ordinance. Passed in February of 2018, PAPA required animal shelters within city limits to operate under a save rate of more than at least 90%.

HSPPR says a part of the deal to return to Pueblo was that PAPA needed to be rescinded.

“We put in another inspirational ordinance which will help our community to feel like our organization will do the very best job that we can,” said McHugh-Smith. “But you can’t manage an animal shelter to a number, a single number. Animal sheltering is very complex, and I think that’s what our elected officials have learned here.”

Both Council and the County are working to permanently bring HSPPR back to the animal shelter as the operators. Those discussions are just beginning to get underway.

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Pending a vote by Pueblo County Commissioners Tuesday morning, the Humane Society of the Pikes Peak Region (HSPPR) will return to Pueblo to run the City and County’s animal shelter after leaving just a few months prior.

Pueblo City Council members unanimously voted to approve a 90 day contract with HSPPR to operate the city’s animal services.

This all comes after a state investiation forced the prevous vendor, PAWS for Life, to step down when it was found out that animals were being mstreated and records were witheld from state inspectors.

Elected official also unanimously approved an emergency ammendment to the ordinance. City Council President Dennis Flores says this gives the city a greater ability to oversee the animal shelter operations, and provides more accountabilty for those that run the shelter.

The amendment also gets rid of the Pueblo Animal Protection Act (PAPA). This required all shelters within the city of Pueblo to function under a save rate of at least 90%.

HSPPR says they are excited to be back in Pueblo and running the community’s animal services once again. Negotiations to bring them back permanently are still on going.

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Monday night, Pueblo City Council members will vote on an emergency ordinance as well as a short term 90-day contract with the Humane Society of the Pikes Peak Region to take over as the city’s animal shelter operator once again.

HSPPR, who was the shelter’s vendor for more than a decade, was passed over late last year by both Pueblo City Council and County Commissioners when awarding a new three-year contract. The local private ‘no-kill’ shelter, PAWS for Life, was picked to take over at the shelter. PAWS bid lower than HSPPR and claimed the shelter would have a higher save rate at the time.

After less than three months as the vendor of the the shelter, PAWS surrendered its license to operate the shelter to the state. The Colorado Department of Agriculture’s inspectors found that PAWS staff were mistreating the animals and withholding important records.

( RELATED: Inspection reports reveal why Pueblo’s animal shelter was shut down )

The council is also considering an emergency ordinance that would be an amendment. Pueblo City Council President Dennis Flores says it would allow the city to have more oversight over the animal shelter, and shelter operators will be held more accountable.

“I believe this will be a template for really getting everything going again,” said Flores. “We think it is an improvement and enhancement that really takes a bad situation and makes it better.”

If approved by city council, the emergency ordinance would remove the Pueblo Animal Protection Act, or PAPA, which was passed in early 2018.

The main function of PAPA was to set a minimum save rate at 90% for all city shelters. The Pueblo County Board of Commissioners would not impose those same rules on themselves, despite sharing operating costs on the shelter with the city.

“We want a uniform contract and we want uniform ordinances between the county commissioners and the city council,” said Flores.

As for the 90-day contract, Flores hopes the discussion will lead to bringing back HSPPR as the permanent operator animal shelter for a long time.

Starting at 7 p.m. during Monday’s city council meeting, public comment will be allowed before council members come to a vote.