Hours of Operation
The Shelter is open Monday through Friday from 12 PM to 5 PM and Saturday 1 PM to 4 PM. Closed Sundays and City holidays.
Adoption Policy
It is the goal of Metro Animal Services to place healthy temperamentally sound animals in homes where they will receive good life long care.
Animals are primarily adopted as household pets and companion animals and for other utilitarian purposes. No dog is adopted only for the purpose of becoming or being used as guard dogs or attack dogs.
Towards this goal the following adoption policies apply:
- Only dogs and cats, that are not known to have exhibited aggressive tendencies or other serious behavioral problems, will be placed for adoption.
- Under no circumstances shall any animal be adopted, sold, released or otherwise given away for research, experimental or laboratory testing.
- All adopters must be eighteen years of age or older.
- No animals will be adopted to persons living in rental property, including mobile home parks without the explicit authorization of the manager or landlord.
- The adopter must agree to provide the animal with proper care at all times, including nutritious food, water, shelter, exercise and veterinary care necessary to prevent illness and relieve suffering.
- The prospective adopter must complete and sign all necessary forms and agree to have the animal sterilized.
A background check must be completed on all prospective adopters. The background check may include but is not limited to: a check of Chameleon, PetWhere or CAD; or other computer based information systems or personnel knowledge.
The prospective adopter must be in full compliance with all existing city, county or state statutes or ordinances relating to animals at the time of the adoption. This includes licensing of all cats and dogs presently owned.
Adoptions may be declined for the following reasons. If the application is denied, an appeal must be made in writing to the Metro Animal Services Manager, within three days of the denial.
- The number of animals the adopter has is in excess of the city, county or state statutes or ordinances.
- Any known history of animal cruelty or neglect convictions, repeated animal control violations and/or previous violations of adoption agreements.
- Past history of surrendering animals. This will be examined on a case by case basis.
- Best interest of the animal.
- Failure to agree to spay/neuter the animal or failure/refusal to sign the adoption application.
If the prospective adopter:
A. Displays erratic or disorientated behavior, incoherent or slurred speech or otherwise gives the appearance of being under the influence of any intoxicant(s).
B. Demonstrates rude, threatening, aggressive or violent behavior towards people or animals or creates reasonable doubt as to the ability or desire to live up to the adoption form or adoption contract.
C. Is belligerent, argumentative or voices opposition to Metro Animal Services Policies and thereby creates reasonable doubt as the ability or desire to live up to the adoption form or adoption contract.
D. Falsifies adoption application information for the purposes of subverting policy.
E. Is evasive about where the animal will live.
F. Cannot or will not provide confirmation of current name or address.
G. Offers an unsafe and/or unhealthy environment for the animal.
Adoption Procedures
In order to adopt an animal from Metro Animal Services, you must first complete an Adoption Application. If you rent, then you must have your landlord complete the Landlord Approval Form. Both of these forms must be completed and returned to Metro prior to adopting an animal. Once the Adoption Application is completed and turned in, a background check is done. If you pass the background check then you can adopt the animal. The cost to adopt a dog is $50 and the cost to adopt a cat is $35. Included in the adoption fee is a microchip, first set of shots, free health exam, and if needed a cat carrier. Once the animal has received its rabies shot, bring proof of the rabies vaccination to Metro and you will receive a license.
If the animal being adopted is not spayed/neutered then a $100 cash deposit must be given at the time of the adoption. Once the adopter provides proof that the animal has been spayed/neutered that deposit will be refunded.
Licensing Requirements
All cats and dogs in Natrona County, Casper, and Bar Nunn must be licensed through Metro Animal Services. In order to get a license, your animal must have a current rabies vaccination. Once the animal has a current rabies vaccination, you can purchase a license through City hall customer service desk or at the Shelter. The license fee for an unaltered animal in Casper, and Bar Nunn is $25.00. If your animal is micro chipped and Unaltered the fee is $15.00.The license fee for an altered animal in Casper, Evansville, and Bar Nunn is $5.00. If your animal is micro chipped and altered the license is free.
Ordinances
The ordinances that elicit the most questions are:
- How many animals can I have? If you live in Casper, or Bar Nunn, the maximum number of cats and dogs you can legally have is three. In the unincorporated areas of Natrona County, zoning requirements will determine how many animals you can have.
- My neighbor's dog barks all of the time, what do I do? The first thing that you should do is to talk to your neighbor and tell them of the problem. They might not even realize that their dog is barking. If this doesn't work, then contact Non-emergency dispatch at 235-8278. They will have an Animal Control Officer contact the owner. The Officer will educate the owner and give them some possible solutions to the barking problem. If this doesn't work, then we will have you fill out a Barking Dog Log. The purpose of the Barking Dog Log is to show the Court the dates and times the dog is barking. Once the Log is completed, return it to Metro and we will take it to the City Attorney for review. If the City Attorney finds there is enough evidence, then a summons will be issued and you will be required to testify in Court.
- Does my dog or cat need a license? All cats and dogs in Natrona County must be licensed through Metro Animal Services. In order to buy a license, you must have the cat or dog vaccinated against rabies. Once this is done, bring the rabies certificate to Metro and once payment is made, we will issue you a license for your cat or dog. You can also purchase the license at your Vet office.
- What is running at large? A dog is deemed to be at large, if it is off the premises of the owner and the dog is not under restraint or is not under the control of the owner. A cat is deemed to be at large if it is on private property without prior permission of the property owner and does not wear a valid license tag attached to its collar or does not bear a tattoo or microchip.
Missing Animals
My cat or dog is missing, what do I do? The first thing you should do is to check the immediate area. If you cannot find your animal, then contact Metro Animal Services. It is best if you come to the Shelter and complete the Missing Animal Form. We will take a missing animal report and place it in the computer. Please understand that we deal with hundreds of animals each and every month, so we may or may not realize your animal is here at the Shelter. You should come up to the Shelter every few days to check and see if we have your animal. If your animal has a current Metro Tag or a microchip, it makes the return of the animal much easier. We highly encourage all pet owners to have their animals micro chipped, which can be done at your Vet. All animals that are adopted out of the Shelter are micro chipped prior to leaving the Shelter.
Volunteer Program
We encourage anyone who is interested in volunteering to contact Metro at (307) 235-8398. We have an active volunteer program and welcome those who would like to volunteer.
Donations
We accept donations, which go into our spay/neuter fund. This fund is used to spay/neuter animals here at the Shelter. We also accept donations of food and other items. These are usually given out to people who adopt from the Shelter.
Nuisance Animals
The City of Casper recognizes wildlife are an integral part of our ecosystem. As such, it is inevitable contact and/or conflict will occur between wildlife and the public. This is a natural and expected consequence of living in Wyoming.
Metro Animal Services may receive calls concerning wildlife and will strive to be helpful to citizens, either through response, or through referral of the citizen to the appropriate agency or private industry.
If a resident contacts MAS regarding a wildlife issue, we will direct them to the appropriate authorities such as the Wyoming Game and Fish, a licensed wildlife rehabilitator, or a licensed wildlife/nuisance animal control business. We will provide the resident with guidance on how to safely and responsibly interact with wildlife until they arrive.
In many cases, MAS personnel may be able to resolve the concern with one of the following options:
- If the animal is simply on the property, encourage the caller to leave the animal alone;
- Provide information on resources related to wildlife deterrents; and,
- Make appropriate referrals.
MAS personnel will respond if humans are in imminent danger of physical injury.
Spaying/Neutering of your animal
When you adopt an animal from Metro, you sign a contract agreeing to have the animal spayed/neutered. You, as the pet owner, are responsible for getting this done by the due date. If you own an animal, which has not been spayed/neutered, please do so immediately. There are simply too many animals in Natrona County. The only way to lessen the number of animals is to spay or neuter them. Nationwide it is estimated that eight out of every ten cats and six out of every ten dogs who enter Shelters are killed. Here are some of the reasons why you should spay/neuter your animals:
- Spayed/neutered animals are less expensive to license.
- Spayed/neutered dogs and cats are less likely to become lost, because they roam less. Statistics show that 80% of the roaming dogs hit by cars are unneutered males
- Spayed dogs do not go into heat and thus do not stain carpeting and furniture with their discharge.
- Spayed dogs, which have been spayed before their 1st heat, are 200 times less likely to develop mammary tumors and do not develop pyometra, a common uterine infection in non- spayed females.
- Spayed cats don't go into heat and frustrate their owners with yowling and anxious behavior and the attraction of unneutered males.
- Neutered male cats do not spray walls, carpet, furniture, etc.
- Neutered male dogs are less likely to develop prostate gland disorders, or lower genito-urinary problems which lead to kidney disease.
- Spayed/neutered dogs and cats are less likely to fight with other animals.
According to the Humane Society of the United States, an estimated 5 million cats and dogs are killed in Shelters each year. That's one about every six and one half seconds.
Worries about pets getting fat and lazy due to spaying/neutering are unfounded. The truth is that pets get fat and lazy only if their owners feed them too much and don't give them sufficient exercise.
Yet, with all of these reasons and others that can be found on the Humane Society of the United States Web Page, www.hsus.org, the simple fact is there are too many animals. So for everyone's sake, spay/neuter your animals.