Grand Rivers Humane Society was established in 2005 by the late physician, Dr. Maruca. It was solely built on the goal of saving cats and dogs that needed a home. Dr. Maruca kept hearing stories about healthy, well-behaved pets being euthanized in Mesa County because of shelter overflow or being in captivity for too long, so he decided to start a program to work with Mesa County Animal Services to save pets that were nearing euthanasia.