BILLINGS — Billings is changing how it provides animal shelter services beginning July 1, with Billings Animal Control assuming operations at the city's Monad Road shelter nearly 10 months after an incinerator incident forced the Yellowstone Valley Animal Shelter to relocate.
Beginning Wednesday, Animal Control will operate the shelter at 1735 Monad Road, according to a Monday city press release.
The city said several services will be temporarily limited as Animal Control assumes operations. The release stated residents should not bring stray animals to the Monad Road shelter while staff establish operations. The city also has temporarily suspended issuing live traps.
Instead, officials ask anyone who finds a stray animal to temporarily care for it, if it is safe to do so, and share photos and information on social media or neighborhood groups in an effort to reunite pets with their owners.
People who cannot temporarily house a stray are encouraged to contact one of Billings' private animal shelters or rescue organizations.
Animal Control officers will continue responding to dangerous or aggressive animals, and emergency public safety responses will not change, according to the city.
Residents looking for an impounded pet should call Animal Control at 406-657-8226. Pet retrievals and animal licensing will be available by appointment only during the transition.
Prior to the announcement, Interim City Administrator Kevin Iffland told MTN on Monday that the city planned to issue a new request for proposals for animal shelter services.
"We're still working on what's going to happen after that date," Iffland said.
The transition follows the expiration of the city's temporary contract with Yellowstone Valley Animal Shelter, which had continued providing shelter services after a Sept. 10, 2025, malfunction during an FBI methamphetamine routine drug burn at the city-owned incinerator. The incident sent 14 shelter employees to the hospital and prompted YVAS to permanently leave the Monad Road facility.
YVAS relocated after the incident, saying it no longer felt safe operating next to the city-owned incinerator. The shelter has since operated from a warehouse location at 5056 Jellison Road under a six-month agreement with the city that began in December.
That agreement allowed YVAS to continue providing shelter services while city officials and the nonprofit worked toward a longer-term arrangement.
YVAS Executive Director Triniti Halverson told MTN just hours before the announcement on Monday that she had hoped the two sides would reach a new agreement before the contract expired on Wednesday.
"I think everybody had thought that that would be enough time to work through a lot of our operational issues or our communication issues with the city," Halverson said. "Unfortunately we just haven't dialed everything down yet."
Halverson said the shelter's proposal reflected rising operating costs and the expanded services YVAS has taken on over the past five years.
"What we bid was higher than what they intended to pay for the services," she said. "We're really trying to capture inflation, the change in the contract, looking at how much we have taken on as an organization over the last five years."
She said she remains confident in the organization's work.
"We obviously provide the best services for the community. So in the end, it has to work together."
YVAS remains Montana's largest animal shelter.
The Monad Road facility will continue serving as Animal Control's base of operations during the transition. Last year, former Billings City Administrator Chris Kukulski told MTN the long-term future of the building remained undecided, with one possible option being demolition if YVAS eventually constructs its own shelter.
The city said it expects the transition to take time and asked residents for patience as it builds capacity while continuing to provide essential public safety services.
