Cheyenne Animal Shelter: Adoption and How to Help

✍️ LargestCharities Editorial Team | 📅 Last updated: June 2026

The Cheyenne Animal Shelter is Wyoming's largest community animal shelter, on a roughly nine-acre campus in Cheyenne. It is open-admission, and for decades it provided animal control for the area before the City of Cheyenne took those operations in-house in 2021. Here is how adoption, surrender, and its services work.

TypeOpen-admission; largest in Wyoming
Founded1970s
HeadquartersCheyenne, Wyoming
Service areaCheyenne and Laramie County
Websitecheyenneanimalshelter.org
Charity NavigatorFour stars (92%)
The backlog domain wyhumane.org is not this shelter (it belongs to a county humane society in Ohio). The Cheyenne Animal Shelter is Wyoming's largest. The City of Cheyenne took over direct animal control in 2021.
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What the Cheyenne Animal Shelter is

The Cheyenne Animal Shelter is the largest community animal shelter in Wyoming. It started in a downtown garage more than 50 years ago and now operates from a roughly nine-acre, 21,000 square foot campus, built in part through an early-2000s local sales-tax measure. It is open-admission.

For decades it held the contract to provide animal control and impound services for Cheyenne and Laramie County. In 2021 the City of Cheyenne took over direct animal-control operations and renegotiated the arrangement, so the shelter's role today centers on sheltering, adoption, and care.

Adopting a pet from the Cheyenne Animal Shelter

The shelter does not post a fixed adoption fee schedule, so the fee is set for each animal; all pets are spayed or neutered before they go home, and dogs leave with a collar and tag. Confirm what each fee covers when you meet an animal.

Adoption is walk-in during adoption hours, with a counselor consultation. Adoptions run roughly noon to 6 p.m., with meet-and-greets ending at 5:30, and there are no dog adoptions on Wednesdays.

Surrender, services, and how to help

Owner surrender is by appointment, and the shelter also provides veterinary care, lost-and-found services, and foster and volunteer programs. Because the city now runs animal control directly, residents should confirm whether a stray or enforcement matter goes to the city or the shelter.

Volunteers can start young in tiered roles, with children as young as six helping alongside a parent or guardian and all roles open at 18; foster homes are supplied with everything they need, including medical care. The shelter's fundraising foundation holds a four-star rating from Charity Navigator with a 92 percent score, and its EIN is 83-0217643.

Programs

Pet adoption

Dogs, cats, and other companion animals in Cheyenne.

Veterinary care

Medical care for shelter animals.

Lost and found

Resources to reunite lost pets with their owners.

Owner surrender

By appointment for owners who can no longer keep a pet.

Foster care

Homes supplied with everything needed, including medical care.

Volunteer program

Tiered roles starting as young as age six with a parent.

By the numbers

Frequently asked questions

Is the Cheyenne Animal Shelter the Wyoming Humane Society?
It is Wyoming's largest community animal shelter. The domain wyhumane.org belongs to a county humane society in Ohio, not this shelter.
Does the Cheyenne Animal Shelter handle animal control?
It did for decades, but the City of Cheyenne took over direct animal-control operations in 2021. Residents should confirm whether a matter goes to the city or the shelter.
How much does it cost to adopt?
Fees are set per animal rather than posted. All pets are spayed or neutered before adoption, and dogs leave with a collar and tag.
Do I need an appointment to adopt?
No. Adoption is walk-in during adoption hours, roughly noon to 6 p.m., with no dog adoptions on Wednesdays.
How do I surrender a pet?
By appointment. The shelter also provides veterinary care and lost-and-found services.
How old do you have to be to volunteer?
Tiered roles start as young as six with a parent or guardian, and all roles are open at 18.

Sources: Cheyenne Animal Shelter (cheyenneanimalshelter.org) mission, adopt, and volunteer pages; reporting on the city's 2021 animal-control change; Charity Navigator (EIN 20-5610344 for the Services Foundation; shelter EIN 83-0217643). Profiled because the backlog domain wyhumane.org belongs to an Ohio organization. Retrieved June 2026. We are not affiliated with Cheyenne Animal Shelter and receive no compensation for this listing. Spotted an error? [email protected]

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