Here are the latest updates from the Yellowstone Valley Animal Shelter.
News Pupdates
YVAS Hosts Open House to Celebrate New Foster Home:
March 7, 2026, from 12:00 PM to 3:00 PM at 5056 Jellison Road for a family-friendly Open House celebrating this exciting new chapter. Guests will have the opportunity to tour the new shelter setup, explore work-in-progress animal care areas, and see firsthand how the updated housing better reflects the standards of care and compassion YVAS strives to uphold.
YVAS Hosts Annual Bingo Night!
Bingo with Bingo’’, a fun way to spend your Valentine’s Day! This event features an evening of fun, friends, (and most importantly–) gambling! This event is designed to not only serve as a fundraiser for the local nonprofit, but as a means to show some real love to the community that supports YVAS year-round.
YVAS Hosts Annual Dental Nominations:
The program is designed to support underserved pet owners who may not have the financial means to afford routine or advanced dental care at a traditional veterinary clinic. From cleanings to extractions and follow-up care, the giveaway helps ensure pets can eat, play, and live pain-free lives.
A Grateful Goodbye:
Following the September 10 incident that forced YVAS to evacuate all animals, staff, and volunteers, the shelter was left without a facility and temporarily unable to serve the community. Lionheart Cannabis stepped in immediately, offering rent-free warehouse space where YVAS operated for four months. This support allowed the shelter to continue caring for animals and maintain essential services during a time of uncertainty.
YVAS officially opens doors to (temporary) new facility.
“Our operations team and all of our animal care team will come back to work under one roof together. And I don’t know if I’ve ever been more excited about anything…”
Pawprints in the Right Direction
Pawprints in the Right Direction: Yellowstone Valley Animal Shelter (YVAS) will move to a more stable, longer-term location off Jellison Road ending months of operating in emergency spaces.
The Billings Community- A Paw-sitive Place!🐾
Yellowstone Valley Animal Shelter overwhelmed by community generosity following emergency relocation
Home for the Holidays!
“…fostering is a powerful way to give back. You may not be able to adopt right now, but you can still give an animal the greatest gift of all: a home for the holidays!”
Newman Restoration Donates $10,000 to Support “Paws and Rebuild” Capital Campaign
Newman Restoration dedicated more than 448 hours to the highly specialized cleaning and recovery effort. As a final act of generosity, Newman Restoration is donating $10,000 to the Paws and Rebuild Capital Campaign, helping YVAS move closer to building a new state-of-the-art shelter that better serves the region’s animals and families.
YVAS Enters New Contract with the City of Billings
…”leaders of both organizations believed it would be helpful to meet together to increase trust and discuss future operational issues.”
Improvise. Adapt. Rebuild. 🐾
After careful consideration, Yellowstone Valley Animal Shelter (YVAS) has made the difficult decision not to return to our former building on Monad Road and will be ending our lease agreement with the City of Billings…
A Long Read on a Complicated Story: A Statement From Our Director
On Wednesday, September 10, 2025, Yellowstone Valley Animal Shelter began to fill with smoke, resulting in a complete evacuation of the building – both animals and humans. Immediately, it was determined that the smoke was coming from a contained but malfunctioning burn in the incinerator on site…