Coloradans get tattoos, help raise funds for Denver Animal Shelter

DENVER (KDVR) — People have a wide range of feelings when it comes to tattoos — some love them and cover their bodies with the art, while others hate them and would never get one.

Oftentimes, if someone commits to putting ink on their skin forever, they have strong feelings for what it is. Something else people tend to have strong feelings for are pets.

So, it seems a perfect match for Denver Animal Shelter to team up with Think Tank Tattoo for their latest fundraiser, Tats for Tails.

“Pets are a universal thing that bring people together, so, hopefully, we’ll see a lot of great turnout today,” Lindsay Wells of the Denver Animal Shelter said Saturday morning. “Last year we saw a 30% increase in the amount of animals that we saw, so, we had 8,700 animals come through our doors last year. And we’ve been extremely full, and the summer is always our busiest time of year.”

Think Tank Tattoo’s Jake Bray started tattooing 16 years ago. He is also an animal lover, having a dog of his own. 

“We’ve done benefits in the past, and we’ve donated to the shelter,” said Bray. “Lindsay hit me up this year and was like, ‘hey we should collab together,’ and I was like absolutely, yeah, let’s do it.”

On Saturday, people got tattoos choosing from animal-inspired designs for $200. All of the proceeds went to the Denver Animal Shelter. 

“Our entire foster program is funded through donations,” said Wells. “We also have a community engagement program that is fully funded through donations. We’ve built play yards with donations, we do enrichment like kongs and bones, things to keep the dogs’ and cats’ minds busy.”

Bray hopes to grow the event in the future.

“Just trying to make it bigger, and make it an annual thing. That’s what we’d like to do,” said Bray.

Anyone wishing to help can also donate to the cause online.