See a stray dog and want help catching it? If you call Denver Animal Protection, the agency’s officers may not be available.
Instead, you’ll often be told you could catch it yourself and bring it to the shelter or a vet.
Understaffing and the city’s recent $250 million in budget cuts resulted in layoffs across city government. The cuts left Denver Animal Protection with only 11 animal protection officers to cover 24/7 operations across the entire city of Denver.
I discovered this last week when a very sweet dog, whom we’ll call Fido, started following me and my dog, Luke, on a long walk. Fido wasn’t a threat, but if I walked back home, I’d risk him following me across Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and conceivably being smashed to death.
So after trying to lose him for half an hour — wandering up and down the street and hoping an owner would come out looking for him — I called the Denver Animal Protection hotline and was told that understaffing meant nobody could come fetch this dog. I should do it myself.
One problem: The dog wouldn’t let me near him.
Animal abuse on the rise
When I called the city’s health department to ask for comment, I was told that with an uptick in animal abuse, the animal protection officers are often busy on more urgent matters.
A wandering dog rarely makes the list.
“Unfortunately, DAP has seen a steep increase in animal cruelty, neglect, and bite calls coming in over the past 5-6 years,” Department of Public Health and Environment spokesperson Ryann Money wrote me. “These more complex calls can take longer to investigate, and so the bandwidth to respond to stray animals can be impacted based on capacity.”
Denverite reviewed the data from 2021 to 2025, and cases of cruelty, neglect and dog surrenders are all up.
There were also 1,000 more stray dogs reported in 2025 compared to 2021, though that number has shown some improvement lately.
Staffing issues
The already overtaxed department was hit by the city’s budget crisis and lost two animal protection officers. The two eliminated positions are saving the city budget a little more than $200,000– a tiny fraction of the $250 million cut in 2025 and 2026. It also has several vacant jobs.
Denver had 18 animal protection officers back in 2010 when the city’s population was around 600,000. Now, there are 14 positions, but only 11 are filled, for a population that has topped 740,000.
“Vacancies account for ongoing hiring, medical and personal leave,” Money wrote. “Some of this reduction has happened as needs across the shelter changes and positions are reallocated for support across the shelter.”
And the shelter is in need of support. The number of dogs being surrendered has risen mightily, more than doubling over the past five years. While this was initially attributed to the pandemic, city officials say the trend has continued well beyond it, reflecting larger cost-of-living issues.
So, what if you see a stray?
DAP is encouraging people to call dispatch, 720-913-2080, whenever they see a stray — even if officers aren’t available to respond.
“It is also helpful to snap a picture and post them on community lost pet pages, like through Nextdoor, so that people can be reunited with their pets,” Money wrote.
If dogs are near busy intersections or at schools, have bitten someone, are acting aggressively or have been hit by a car, those calls will be prioritized for a response.
What is the city doing about the issue?
The city of Denver wants people of all economic levels to be pet owners and is working to prevent people from abandoning their pets in the first place. In part, that means ensuring people have access to free and low-cost veterinary care, as needed. The hope is that when animals have health issues that make them a challenge to deal with, their owners don’t immediately dump them onto the streets or send them to the shelter.
So the city partners with the mental health organization WellPower, the city’s Department of Housing Stability and other nonprofits to connect with people who need additional support with veterinary care.
It’s cheaper for the city to help with vet care and have people keep their animals than it is for the pets to be relinquished to the city, only to live at the shelter.
Aidan McMorrow leads the outreach for the city. He acknowledges medical care for pets is out of reach for many people.
“If you want to have a dog or cat, you should not be having to take out loans to afford basic vet care for those animals,” he told Denverite in an interview. “And you should not have to be considering whether you have to relinquish this animal.”
