The acquisition of the property for the Teller County Regional Animal Shelter’s new C.A.R.E. House capped a remarkable 2023 for the organization.

“2023 made it clear that Teller County is growing and that we needed to grow alongside our community,” TCRAS said in a press release. “With the continued support of generous donors and community members, we were able to purchase a beautiful piece of property now known as the TCRAS C.A.R.E House.”

The main shelter in Divide will still be a place where dogs and cats are available for adoption and where lost dogs and cats can be found and reunited with their families.

“The C.A.R.E. House will be a place of warmth and resources for the people and pets in our community,” TCRAS said. “It will allow us to help with more spay and neuter vouchers, TNR vouchers, pet supplies and so much more.”

In 2023, TCRAS was also able to help some of the rural areas of Teller County with two low-cost vaccination clinics. The first one was in May and the line wrapped around the park in Cripple Creek, as residents got their pets vaccinated, microchipped, and licensed. This led to another clinic in September.

TCRAS reported that more dogs and cats came through our doors in 2023 than had been seen in any of the previous years, which led to the need for special “spay and neuter days.”

“With the support of the Colorado Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Animal Protection, and Woodland Vet Clinic, we were able to spay and neuter 60+ cats in 12 hours, over two days,” TCRAS said. “This allowed us to adopt 50 cats in a single month.”