The Yellowstone Valley Animal Shelter (YVAS) will no longer accept stray and lost animals from within the Billings city limits, following notice from the city that it is changing providers for sheltering services.
Watch the full video below:
Shelter officials posted the announcement on its website and social media platforms, noting they were informed of city's decision, which is pending City Council approval, on Wednesday night. The move would end the shelter's 18-year partnership with the city.
In July, the city's Animal Control assumed control of the main shelter facility on Monad Road and ended its contract with YVAS for sheltering services, although YVAS continued to provide services, hoping for a future contract. YVAS had relocated to a new, smaller facility on Jellison Road after a September 2025 incident when a malfunction occurred in the facility while law enforcement was burning seized methamphetamine, which sickened YVAS employees and forced the relocation of animals.
Watch previous Q2 coverage:
Shelter officials said they have continued offering sheltering services without the certainty of a full-time contract, incurring $120,000 in expenses over the last four months.
“We knew continuing to provide these services without compensation was financially unsustainable, but we also knew that our community had spent nearly two decades trusting us to care for their lost animals,” said YVAS Executive Director Triniti Halverson in a written statement. “We genuinely believed we could find a path forward with the City, and we did everything we reasonably could to avoid reaching this point. To say we are disappointed by this outcome would be an understatement.”
YVAS urged community members concerned about the future of sheltering services to email Billings City Council members at Council@BillingsMT.gov
YVAS will keep taking strays through its relationships with the Yellowstone County Sheriff's Office and the Laurel Police Department, and will continue its surrender, medical care and safety net foster programs.
"We're still going to do all of the other great services that we provide that have nothing to do with the contract. YVAS is so much more than just that contract," Halverson said.
Halverson said that when narrowed to stray animals within Billings city limits, the shelter typically handles around 2,000 animals a year. Last year, YVAS helped 6,000 animals overall.
For residents who find a stray within Billings, Halverson said the shelter is directing questions to the city.
"We encourage people with those questions to contact the city of Billings and ask them what they would have our citizens do," Halverson said.
The organization is also weighing how the loss affects its finances. Halverson said YVAS is running a capital campaign to build a new shelter, but those funds cannot be used for day-to-day operations.
"I'm running a capital campaign to build a shelter that our community needs and it's doing great. It's thriving," Halverson said. "And on the flip side, none of those funds can be used for operations."
This week, the city animal control committee chose to work with another provider instead of YVAS.
The proposed agreement is still being worked out and must still go before city council for approval.
That provider is Tina Gaspbar, who runs Kindred Hearts Animal Haven, a shelter she is currently operating out of her home in Shepherd.
She may soon be partnering with the city of Billings, moving her operation to the animal control building on Monad Road.
Gaspbar said a friend encouraged her to respond to the request for proposals, and she worked with her sister to put the proposal together.
After her first bid came in above what the city wanted to pay, she revamped it to meet the city's budget.
"It's kind of my life dream finally coming true," Gaspbar said.
Gaspbar said her passion for animals began in childhood, when the neighborhood mailman would bring her stray dogs he found along his route.
"I would put a leash on it and I would spend hours walking the neighborhood trying to find its owners, trying to find its home," Gaspbar said.
She later founded Canine Hope Broker and recently created Kindred Hearts Animal Haven as a nonprofit so she could partner with the city.
Gaspbar said the potential new expansion of her business comes with some uncertainty.
"I am a little nervous because it's a whole new, it's a whole new venture," Gaspbar said.
Still, Gaspbar said she hopes to collaborate with YVAS rather than compete.
"Why YVAS is an amazing organization and they've done amazing things for this community. I really hope that we can actually work together instead of being some sort of a rival," Gaspbar said.
For Gaspbar, the focus remains on the animals.
"I mean the animals, that's what matters. All the other stuff is just background noise. It's really all about helping these animals because they don't have a voice of their own," Gaspbar said.
In a statement, Billings City Council member Andrew Lindley said he hopes a resolution can be reached.
"I'm disappointed that the city and YVAS weren't able to find the middle ground we needed to continue the partnership. I'll be going into the contract approval discussion with an open mind when it shows up on our agenda," Lindley said in a statement.
A decision can't come soon enough as residents are left in a holding pattern.
YVAS is still operating but will not be taking in Billings' stray and lost animals. Billings Animal Control continues to only take in vicious animals or those with legal holds.
Billings City Council is expected to vote on the new animal shelter agreement Nov. 23.
Related: ‘Bigger burden’: Billings animal shelter laments end of animal control partnership
