Tonya Stephens, executive director for Hoof & Paw, which is the West End’s nonprofit dedicated to homeless animals, told the Forum more than 230 cats and dogs were helped in 2025, though a few days were still left in the year.
Over the weekend, she was watching Holly, a cattle dog mix, who’d been brought up from the Cortez area. Holly was pregnant with approximately eight puppies and was showing signs of labor. Hoof & Paw has had Holly for a few weeks, and Stephens was hoping for puppies on Christmas Day. In fact, she planned to name them after Santa’s reindeer. Even though Holly was still pregnant as of Dec. 28, Stephens planned to use the reindeer names anyway.
In the next few months, the nonprofit will need good homes for Holly and her babies.
Stephens is grateful for a volunteer in the West End who assists with puppy situations. The volunteer can take up to three mama dogs with their litters.
In other Hoof & Paw news, Stephens is celebrating the adoption of Mesa, another stray found in between Roc Creek and Mesa Creek. Stephens found the dog after an ambulance transport (yes, she’s also an EMT), and she told the Forum Mesa had no business being out there. The dog had obviously been dumped. It took a while to trap her, and Stephens was in tears when they did.
"I nearly melted into a puddle," she said.
One couple with ties to the West End was hoping to adopt from a shelter in Denver and wanted Stephen’s help. Stephens first asked if she could introduce them to Mesa. Apparently they fell in love with the dog who was “skin and bones” when first coming to Hoof & Paw. Adopted in December, Mesa is living her best life, already stealing the bed from the couple because she wants to sleep with them and bouncing at the door, eager to go on walks.
Watching the transformation of neglected dogs who move through their trauma to trust again is part of what Stephens lives for. She with various volunteers are trying to save as many animals as they can.
These days, the work is extending beyond the West End. Grand County won’t accept dogs outside of its boundary. And, there is no facility to serve Dove Creek, Monticello or Blanding, UT. As a result, Hoof & Paw will take strays. Sometimes, dogs from areas on the reservation also end up in the West End.
Currently there are six dogs at the shelter who need a loving home and three more in foster care. There are 11 puppies in foster care too. There are now 19 cats at the shelter who need a good home and another four in foster care.
And what about the shelter repairs Hoof & Paw has been working on?
This fall a flood made life for shelter animals miserable because of standing water and lack of proper roofing. Thankfully, the Town of Naturita has helped remedy the plumbing issues, but the nonprofit is slow to get the construction done.
Stephens said she’s waiting on the contractor. She’s thankful for the donations from individuals and Timberline Ace Hardware, and also the pledge from a local lumber company, as well as the Town of Nucla. Still, she said she’s at a standstill with the contractor and may have to hire someone else to complete the work.
