We believe transparency matters, especially when the decisions being made directly impact the animals and people we serve. For the past two months, Yellowstone Valley Animal Shelter has continued doing what we do best: caring for animals, supporting pet owners, reuniting lost pets with their families, and finding homes for animals who need them. What has changed is how that work is being funded, and the significant financial impact on YVAS.
In July, the City of Billings announced that it would reopen a City-run animal shelter at our former Monad Road location. That announcement came shortly after the City rejected YVAS’s proposal to renew the animal sheltering partnership we had held with Billings for more than 18 years.
When the City shelter reopened, the public was told that it would not accept stray animals directly from residents. Citizens who found lost pets were instead encouraged to use neighborhood Facebook groups and other community resources to try to reunite them with their families. According to an August City press release, four stray animals had been taken into the City shelter since it reopened, all brought in through Animal Control.
Our experience at YVAS has looked very different. During July and August, YVAS received 313 stray cats and dogs. Of those, 238 were found within Billings city limits. We also received 179 owner-surrendered animals, including 147 from within Billings city limits. Altogether, approximately 1,050 animals came through YVAS during those two months through sheltering, spay and neuter services, vaccine clinics, and other programs.
The reality is simple: Billings residents are still turning to YVAS.
They are bringing us dogs they find wandering their neighborhoods, calling us when their cats go missing, and coming to us when they can no longer care for an animal. They continue trusting YVAS to reunite lost pets with their families and find new homes for animals who have nowhere else to go. We are incredibly grateful for that trust, and we have continued meeting the needs of the community just as we always have.
The concern is not whether YVAS can do the work. We are doing the work every day. The concern is what it costs the shelter to continue providing a public service without reimbursement.
Although our contract with the City has ended, YVAS has continued accepting and caring for stray animals found within Billings city limits. Under our previous agreement, the City contributed approximately $30,000 each month toward animal sheltering services. Even then, that funding covered only a portion of what it actually costs YVAS to provide that care. Today, those costs are being absorbed entirely by YVAS and, ultimately, by our supporters.
We want to do this work. We have the staff, programs, medical resources, experience, and community trust to do it well. But there must be a sustainable way to pay for the services being provided.
Financially, YVAS cannot continue at the rate we operated throughout July and August without reimbursement. If nothing changes, we will eventually be forced to make choices we do not want to make, including reducing the number of animals we can accept from within Billings city limits. Having to make that change would not reflect the shelter we have spent more than 18 years building or the standard of care our community has come to expect from YVAS.
The City of Billings is currently reviewing responses to its newest Request for Proposal for animal sheltering services. YVAS has applied once again because we believe we are uniquely positioned to continue providing these services at a level that is unmatched in our area.
Our hope is that this RFP process results in a sustainable partnership that allows YVAS to keep doing what we have done for more than 18 years: caring for Billings’ animals and the people who love them, while maintaining the level of professional and medical care our community deserves.
