Pet Animal Resources in Colorado

Written By Jenni Black

The Animal Assistance Foundation does not provide direct animal care and is not able to allocate funds to individuals or their pets. Please contact your local animal shelter or a veterinarian if you need animal care services.

Your Local Animal Shelter 

Your local animal shelter can be invaluable if you’re struggling with pet-related expenses. Many shelters offer or can direct you to services such as: 

  • Low-cost veterinary clinics for spay/neuter, vaccinations, and other essential care. 

  • Pet food pantries for residents experiencing financial difficulties. 

  • Lists of community resources, including clinics and programs tailored to pet owners in need. 

For those in Denver, the Metro Denver Animal Welfare Alliance (MDAWA) is an excellent starting point. They provide comprehensive information on low-cost vaccinations, pet food banks, lost pet assistance, and more. For adoption, pet relinquishment, lost and found, pet behavior help, and other similar needs, please reach out to your local animal shelter. A partial list of animal shelters in each region of Colorado is provided below.

For more shelters in your area, see the Animal Welfare Association of Colorado.

Largest Animal Shelters in Colorado

Here is a list of some of the largest animal shelters in Colorado that may provide further assistance or direct you to helpful programs:

Denver Metro Animal Shelters

Western Slope Animal Shelters

Northern Colorado Animal Shelters

Southern Colorado Animal Shelters

Eastern Colorado Animal Shelters

Western Colorado Animal Shelters

Colorado Pet Pantry

If access to pet food is your primary concern, consider visiting a pet food bank hosted by the Colorado Pet Pantry. This organization works statewide to ensure pets and their families have access to essential supplies during difficult times.

Low-Cost Veterinary Services

Spay/Neuter

For spay/neuter services, please consider exploring the organizations featured on this webpage: Colorado Pet Overpopulation Fund.

These organizations, located throughout Colorado, have been awarded funding to support spay/neuter programs and provide vouchers. The ongoing generosity of Colorado’s caring citizens makes this possible, as the Colorado Pet Overpopulation Fund (CPOF) relies on contributions from the Adopt-a-Shelter License Plate donations and Tax Checkoff donations.

Southern Colorado Spay/Neuter Clinics

If you are a resident of Southern Colorado and your pet is in need of spay/neuter, please visit https://www.socospayneuter.org/ to find an upcoming clinic.

Metro Denver Low-Cost Spay/Neuter Appointments and Other Veterinary Care

MDAWA members offer a range of low-cost veterinary services to the Metro Denver community, including vaccines and spaying/neutering. For more comprehensive care, Humane Colorado and Humane Society of Boulder Valley both operate full-service veterinary hospitals.

Learn more here: https://www.mdawalliance.org/low-cost-care-guide

Financial Assistance for Veterinary Care

The following organizations offer financial assistance for pet owners facing veterinary expenses. Eligibility requirements and grant amounts vary by organization, so be sure to review each program's criteria before applying.

National Organizations

RedRover Relief Urgent Care provides financial assistance, resources, and emotional support for pet guardians struggling with economic hardship when pets are in life-threatening situations. The average grant is around $250. Find the requirements and application at redrover.org/relief/urgent-care-grants.

Frankie's Friends offers financial assistance for cats and dogs diagnosed with cancer and other life-threatening conditions. Due to the large volume of applications they receive, the program is unable to help everyone who applies. Frankie's Friends does not reimburse for payments already made and will not consider reimbursement situations of any kind. All payments are made directly to the treating veterinarian and never to an individual.

The Pet Fund provides assistance for non-basic, non-urgent veterinary care. This includes medical needs such as cancer treatment, heart disease, chronic conditions, endocrine diseases, eye diseases, etc. They receive hundreds of requests daily from pet owners needing help, and they typically have a wait list for assistance.

Camp Bow Wow Buddies Foundation provides grants up to $1,500. These are meant to cover necessary medical treatments for certain conditions and illnesses.

Hope Mending Heart’s program is designed to help animals who need immediate veterinary care to survive. Due to the overwhelming number of applications they receive, they unfortunately cannot help everyone. The typical grant is $100 to $200. Decisions are based upon several factors, including: medical urgency, financial need, available funding, pet eligibility and pet owner financial status.

The Bobo Fund is dedicated to providing support and assistance to pets with chronic medical needs. Pet owners must provide proof of financial hardship, and the pet (dog, cat, or other domestic household pet) must be diagnosed with a chronic medical condition that requires lifelong or long-term prescription medication or food.

Paws 4 A Cure provides assistance with urgent care for dogs and cats. This includes medication, insulin, Heartworm positive treatment, and medical equipment such as wheelchairs. Paws 4 A Cure does not provide assistance with outstanding veterinary bills.

Pet Assistance Inc offers limited funds to help with urgent care or life-threatening emergencies for cats and dogs.

The Mosby Foundation provides financial aid to assist in the care of critically sick, injured, abused or neglected dogs with qualified income-limited pet parents.

Anna’s Pet Care Fund provides critical financial assistance to low-income pet owners for lifesaving veterinary care who have been denied Care Credit AND ScratchPay.

Colorado-Based Organizations

Harley’s Hope Foundation offers a variety of services to assist Colorado’s older adults, 50 and over, needing help to hold onto their companion and service animals. They provide emergency veterinary assistance, emergency boarding, pet food delivery for the elderly, and drive-up pet food pantries.

League for Animals and People of the Summit (LAPS) covers non-routine veterinarian costs for your companion animal, with a lifetime maximum of $1000 per animal. You must income qualify at 100% or less of AMI and live / work in Summit County.

KarmaSue supports Coloradan families with the overwhelming cost that can be associated with a companion animal cancer diagnosis. KarmaSue has a very small amount of Financial Support Program funding available. Please note that they are only able to assist families that are currently residing and seeking cancer treatment within Colorado and that already have a cancer diagnosis for their pet.

Rowdy Relief Fund offers financial assistance to owners whose pets are in need of medical/ surgical care in Colorado. In exchange, the owners are asked to pay it forward through volunteerism.

The South Park Good Samaritan Fund provides, to the South Park community, a resource for assisting low-income families in maintaining responsible pet ownership.

Animal Assistance League of Northwest Colorado provides financial assistance for pets living in Jackson, Rio Blanco, Routt, Moffat, and Grand Counties.

Specialty Assistance – Cancer

KarmaSue supports Coloradan families with the overwhelming cost that can be associated with a companion animal cancer diagnosis.

The Pet Fund provides assistance for non-basic, non-urgent veterinary care, including cancer treatment.

The Live Like Roo Foundation provides financial assistance to help cover medical costs related to cancer treatment in the form of grants that are awarded on a monthly basis after a complete review of this application and the relevant medical records.

Joshua Louis Animal Cancer Foundation provides assistance with the cost of treatment for pets with cancer and is overseen by Frankie’s Friends.

Tripawds Foundation supports pet parents facing amputation and/or a limb cancer diagnosis for their dogs and cats.

Specialty Assistance – Pets of People Experiencing Homelessness

The Street Dog Coalition, serving multiple Colorado regions, offers free clinics, vaccinations, pet food, and vouchers for follow-up care.

Pets of the Homeless has various services and help for homeless individuals with pets nationwide.

Annie and Millie’s Place has a variety of programs for people experiencing homelessness with pets, including clinics in partnership with The Street Dog Coalition, financial assistance for pet care, and fostering.

Specialty Assistance – Other

Diabetic Cats In Need offers a One-Time Assistance Program that is available to provide once-yearly assistance. This assistance includes: a glucose testing kit and a few months’ supply of Lantus/glargine (or reimbursement of up to $75–receipt required for reimbursement) or reimbursement for 1 Prozinc vial (receipt required).

Handicapped Pets Foundation is dedicated to improving the health, mobility, and autonomy of handicapped pets by providing wheelchairs to those in need.

Tripawds Foundationsupports pet parents facing amputation and/or a limb cancer diagnosis for their dogs and cats. They offer several direct assistance programs, including The Tripawds Amputation Surgery Assistance Program, which helps pay unexpected veterinary bills for families in need. Qualified applicants can receive up to a $500 reimbursement for amputation surgery.

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs — Veterans who have service dogs may be eligible for financial assistance with veterinary care. Title 38 Section 1714 enables veterans to ask their caseworkers to file VA Form 10-2641. Contact your VA caseworker for more information.

Veterinary Practice Assistance Programs — If your pet is being seen at a BluePearl, Banfield, VCA or Veterinary Emergency Group location, please inquire about the assistance they offer through their own Hope Fund and VEG Cares programs to see if they can help your pet.

Jenni Black
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