Annie's Orphans Dog Shelter in Durango, CO

Annie's Orphans - Durango Colorado No-Kill Dog Shelter

Hours of Operation:  BY APPOINTMENT ONLY

(Advance scheduling is needed and appreciated!)


Annie's Orphans is a No-Kill dog shelter located in Durango, Colorado which began in 1985 as a home for retired sled dogs. With dogs for adoption in Durango, CO, Annie's Orphans is the oldest No-Kill dog shelter in the Four Corners area.

Even though it started as a home for retired sled dogs, given Anna and Bill Anderson's compassion for animals in distress, this limited scope was quickly revised to become a more "all-inclusive" strategy. The shelter grew rapidly into a full-fledged, all breed rescue and was incorporated as a not-for-profit foundation in 1997. Annie's Orphans now has a maximum capacity of 70 dogs and has become a safe-haven for the abandoned, neglected, and abused pet population throughout the greater Four Corners area. However, due to a high in-flow of rescued dogs, a number of older dogs in residence with considerable health care needs and those that are hard to adopt because of the traumatic lives they have led, the shelter remains at perpetual full-capacity and that is where we need your help!

The goal of Annie's Orphans is to offer abused, discarded and hard to adopt dogs a safe haven until good adoptive homes can be found. Unfortunately, some arrivals have chronic health problems or are too traumatized to adjust easily to a new family. These hard luck stories often find a home for life at Annie's. Food and veterinary care for these long-term residents amount to a larger expense than can be supported through the sale of Black Feather Jewelry and the generous donations from our community. Financial assistance is therefore always needed for the shelter to continue providing a safe home in the mountains. Various supplies and materials are also an ongoing need at our facility. Please see our "wish-list" by accessing the Donate page.

Our hope with this website is to create a simple and user friendly way for you to participate and to stay up to date on the dogs that are up for adoption, scheduled events and information about Annie's Orphans.  This will help us continue to save the world for one dog at a time! Since 1985, the shelter has placed hundreds of dogs in carefully selected forever-homes. Thanks to our community, generous donations and our fantastic volunteers, we continue our mission to rescue, rehab and re-home! 

Please check in regularly, visit our Events page, our Dogs For Adoption page and our Blog to stay involved, remain informed and to help us spread the No-Kill mission for those without a voice of their own! Thank you for your interest and for helping us to change the world -- one dog at a time!

At Annie's, we always have 3 main needs:

  1. Volunteer!
  2. Give!
  3. All leading to the main goal: ADOPT!