On June 20, Arvada Police’s Animal Management Team and police officers served a search warrant at a home on the 7700 block of Carr Drive for suspected illegal dog breeding. Police arrested the  31-year-old suspect, Cesar Miguel Camarena, on outstanding warrants.

He will also face multiple new charges. 

However, after police officers had done their work taking care of the criminal side of things, there was still something that needed attention: the dogs. That’s where animal management comes in. 

Arvada’s Animal Management Team is responsible for enforcing section 14 of the city code, which covers all of the city’s animal laws. This involves a wide variety of cases related to animal welfare, such as animal neglect or wildlife in places it shouldn’t be. 

“A lot of what (animal management) does is problem-solving,"  said Alan Stephens, who supervises Animal Management Officers. "So a problem is brought to their attention."

For cases like Camarena’s, after Animal Management removes animals from their previous situation, they’re passed over to local shelters the department partners with, such as Foothills Animal Shelter. 

“We're not equipped to hold the animals,” Stephens said. “Foothills (Animal Shelter)  intakes the animals, conducts quality of life (exams) right away, they're looking for injury and illness, they want to make sure the animals are healthy.”

Depending on the animal, some are then fostered out while they wait for a decision from the judge on their case. 

For animals that stay at Foothills, there are volunteers to take them on frequent walks and take care of them. Stephens added that Foothills was “about as good as a shelter can possibly be run.”

“(Arvada’s Animal Management) does stuff, I think better than anybody else around us," Stephens said. "They do things that other people won't do. They take all of their cases as professionals. They work them through to the end just like a detective does.”