The West Jordan Animal Shelter is city-owned and operated. The shelter cares for thousands of lost, abandoned, or stray animals, and helps them find a home. The shelter has been in operation for 19 years, and opened in October 2002. Prior to 2002 West Jordan City housed animals at the Murray Animal Shelter. 

With the fast growing population in West Jordan, the city decided there was a need to have a shelter to serve residents under their own jurisdiction. 

The purpose of the shelter is to fulfill vital roles in the jurisdiction of West Jordan. The Shelter wants to receive and provide care for abandoned animals, and help pets reunite with their owners. An adoption service is provided for animals that aren’t reclaimed by their owners. The shelter oversees the TNR (Trap, Neuter, Return) program for feral cats to reduce the feral cat population in the community. West Jordan provides education and information regarding animals and the animal regulations. There is a dispatch center for animal-related calls for service, and provides an office for animal service officers. 

“The shelter is a safe place for the animals. We do the best we can to keep the shelter clean to provide a welcoming experience for the public.” said Officer Colby Haws, Animal Services Officer. 

“We are so grateful for the tremendous and ongoing support West Jordan Residents and businesses provide for the animals at this shelter. Members of our community regularly visit our shelter to view, interact with, and adopt animals in our care. Due to the generosity of the public, we receive a large amount of donated pet food and pet supplies that help make the animals in our care well fed and comfortable without our shelter having to purchase those items.” said Dan Eatchel Animal Services Manager, West Jordan Police Department. 

One of the most rewarding parts of working at the shelter is being a part of the adoption process as homeless animals are placed into new, loving homes,” said Rebecca White, Shelter Technician. 

Animal shelters play a vital role in our communities as they continuously work to reunite pets with their owners, shelter those in need and find new homes for animals that are lost without a permanent home or for those animals that, for our own security, shouldn’t be roaming the streets. For animal shelter workers, it’s often a thankless job as they balance having enough space to house all the animals, coordinating pet adoptions and developing their campaigns to 

encourage people to be responsible and spay /neuter their animals. Animal shelter staffs do all of this while trying to convince people to look first at animal shelters for that special family pet. 

Animal shelters help create many human-animal love connections. Lifelong best friends have been established through the low-cost adoption of animals just waiting for a loving family to adopt them. Animal shelters are the perfect place to adopt a companion that could very well end up being a best friend. Every animal adopted means one less animal purchased from mass breeders. 

Established shelters help lost and injured pets reunite with their owners through animal shelters. Pets can get loose and run away. Or they become frightened and escape their homes and get taken in by city animal control agencies, or turned in by citizens that see a loose animal. Animal shelters help to reestablish family connections and ease a lot of potential suffering by families. 

Shelters and rescue groups are very important. Without animal shelters or rescue groups, it can put a real strain on communities. Thousands of animals could be roaming the streets and impact the safety and health of neighborhoods. Luckily there are animal shelters that protect the safety and health of communities and animals. 

By adopting an animal, you are giving them a second chance for a new life in a loving home. Adopting from a shelter helps weaken the pet overpopulation cycle. Every year millions of dogs, cas, puppies and kittens are euthanized because there are not enough homes for them. Adopting from a shelter will bring a lot of joy to the family and the pet. 

The shelter not only houses dogs and cats, they will also house found rabbits, birds, ferrels, reptiles, and small or medium sized livestock. Large livestock animals are housed at the South Jordan Animal Shelter, or the rodeo grounds. 

When the animals get adopted, they are current on their vaccinations, spayed or neutered. If the animal is too young, they will be scheduled for a spay/neuter appointment when they get old enough. The animals will receive a microchip and get a health exam at the time of their spay/neuter surgery. 

By providing excellent veterinary care in a shelter, then referring the adoptive family to veterinarian clinics, it leads the way to improving pet health in communities. Animal shelters help to stabilize the pet population as well as increasing the wellbeing of citizens. 

The mission of the animal shelters is to bring communities together and play a vital role in keeping our pets and cities safe, educating the public and providing resources for cities dealing with pet over population. It is important for communities to support animal shelters to save, shelter, reunite, adopt, and improve animal health and educate the public.
The West Jordan Animal Officers find and rehome dozens of pets every year. Many of these animals have to spend a few nights in the shelter and wait for their owner to pick them up. 

Those animals need food, toys and warm blankets to keep them warm and help them feel secure in an unfamiliar environment. 

“Our staff works diligently to provide a safe and comfortable experience for the animals in our care. We strive to exceed the public’s expectations by providing a cleaner than expected facility to help visitors have a positive experience when viewing and interacting with the animals.” said Dan Eatchel. 

“We are so grateful for all the donations and supplies our residents donate every year. If not for them, these animals wouldn't have a comfortable stay while our officers work to find them a forever home.” said Marie Magers Digital Senior Communication Specialist. 

The shelter has worked very hard to become a no-kill shelter. The shelter joined the NKUT (No-Kill Utah) Coalition in 2017, and achieved a no-kill status in 2018. The shelter continues to operate as a no-kill shelter. 

Every year the Shelter hosts an annual Holiday for the Animals Event. This year it happened on December 11, 2021 at the Animal Shelter located at 5982 W New Bingham Hwy. The purpose of this event is to receive donations for the animals. The event often provides supplies for the animals well into the following calendar year. By donating to the West Jordan Animal Shelter you help find the animals a safe place to be. 

The items needed are dog and cat food, cat furniture, kitten food, scratching posts, puppy food, treats, toys, bones, cat litter, and dog and cat beds. 

You can drop off donations at the West Jordan Animal Shelter located at (5982 W New Bingham Hwy.) or you can participate in a contactless donation by visiting bit.ly/wjanimalshelter