Salt Lake County Animal Services Named Best of State

Posted By SLCo Animal Services
April 14, 2022

Salt Lake County Animal Services has been named Best of State – Utah for the services the agency provides to the community. Salt Lake County Animal Services is the largest No-Kill municipal shelter in Utah, proudly possessing over 40 years of experience providing sheltering, animal control, emergency response, community resources, and educational programming. Salt Lake County Animal Services is a leader in its industry and has been nationally recognized as one of the top performing animal welfare agencies in the United States.

This year’s nomination was focused on Hounds Around Town, a new volunteer program.  The program allows volunteers and fosters to take shelter dogs out on field trips. Field trips can include activities like hiking, walks, car rides, getting puppaccinos, grooming, shopping, or going out to lunch. This program is bringing in community members who cannot commit to taking care of a dog long term, but still want to work with dogs and help get them adopted. More than 50% of the volunteers signing up for Hounds Around Town are people who have never been to Animal Services before. Taking a shelter dog on a walk or hiking is a great way to improve mental health for both the human and the dog.

Hounds Around Town officially started in 2020, however due to Covid-19 the program was put on hold, and access to volunteers was limited. Starting in the fall of 2021, Hounds Around Town rebounded, and is back and running at its full potential. Multiple volunteers are trained each week, and multiple dogs have gone on field trips.

For more information about this program or for our other innovative programs that have contributed to our 14 Best of State awards, visit our Get Involved page or email fosters@slco.org.