Sep 08, 2016

     Windy and I used the #WalkforADog app today, as we do every morning- when we went out to the park!

I take 7 dogs out before the staff arrives at 7am. And first, I turn the#WalkforaDogApp on with my phone. By 7am, and 7 dogs later, I've walked more then the qualifying minimum of .25. miles!

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     We've done what we'd do anyway. AND we've raised some money to meet the expenses of New Mexico's largest No-Kill animal shelter, with 100 pets in need of daily care!

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     Please install the #WalkforaDog app on YOUR phone today, and whether you have a dog or not, YOU can help to save the lives of abandoned pets!

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Thanks to all who help us care for these precious lives~
Sunny, AVNM

Jan 01, 2020

     We adopted Honey to a young Alamogordo woman in 2011, after rescuing her from death-row. Back then, our adoption requirements weren't as careful. We didn't require references from a veterinarian, showing that the potential adopters had a track record of compassionate, responsible, care- and commitment to their past and current pets.

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     This is the kind of situation that caused us to upgrade our standards, and why it takes no-kill shelters longer to adopt out pets than animal control facilities, that 'ask no questions' and have to adopt to anyone.

Last year, we received the heartbreaking kind of call we hate to get, a call that should NEVER happen, a call from the great folks at Alamogordo Animal Control. AAC takes the welfare of pets seriously, AND the costs to the taxpayer seriously. Think about it- why SHOULD New Mexico's (or any) taxpayers, whether in Otero County or anywhere else, pay for the care or destruction of Animal Village NM adopted pets, when we ALWAYS take them back? Those who follow our Facebook page know that we have raised money to get our pets back from as far as North Carolina, Florida, and Texas when they were in danger again, when their adopters didn’t keep their commitments of lifetime homes, or were in trouble themselves, and went into care facilities, or lost their jobs or homes, or worse.

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     So when the staff at Alamogordo Animal Control scanned Honey for a microchip, they saw right away that she’d been adopted from Animal Village NM, and as they couldn’t get a responsible response from the adopter, they called us right away.

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     We are SO grateful to these folks at AAC. That's never a concern with Alamogordo Animal Control- they always call us - because they know, after all these years, that we ALWAYS go get our babies right away!

Well, it was no different with Honey, and after rooming for almost a year with our handome Braveheart, we made Honey one of our 'FREEdom Pets', one of 27 pets available for adoption without an adoption fee.

Great news: Honey has been adopted to Lenora Stevens, of Hatch, NM!

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     We spoke to Lenora today, and she is SO happy! "I was so broken-hearted when I contacted Animal Village NM," Lenora said. "I had just lost my little doggy and my house was so lonely. Honey has totally changed everything, and she's so adorable, she sleeps at the foot of my bed or on a little table with a blankey by the bed.. I took her to the vet for her first wellness checkup, and they just LOVED her! It's a testament to what you do with these dogs at Animal Village NM, because she just pranced in there and gave everyone kisses, like she'd known them all her life!

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Thank you for saving Honey...she's kind of saving me."

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    If this story has touched you, if you think rescuing and re-rescuing Honey was a worthy thing to do, PLEASE become a monthly sponsor? Please just donate $5 or more per month to keep our doors open. There are 135,000 'Honeys,' precious dogs and cats being abandoned to animal control failities in New Mexico EVERY year!

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     To become a monthly sponsor, click the 'Donate' button.  Donating just $5 or more, will help us to save lives!

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     When you've completed the easy form, just click on the box that reads, "make this a recurring payment." You'll never have to think about it again, until tax time, when you'll deduct your kindness as a donation to a 501c3 Non-Profit, No-Kill animal shelter!

EIN #27-4461260

Jul 29, 2016

Tamira Thayne, Founder Dogs Deserve Better, endorses RePUPlican® Sam for President! "Here’s a Campaign we Dog-Lovers can Get Behind!"

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SAM, still needs your help!!

     Sam's campaign(s) and private donations total $1,512.50 so far, but Sam needs another $687.50 to pay the wonderful surgeons at Ruidoso Animal Clinic, who performed the first two surgeries on his first leg.  

     Because Sam's arthritis around the injury was increasing (which caused the shattering of his leg after the first surgery) his need for this surgery become more and more urgent, for it to succeed! Which is why we went ahead with the next surgery.  The surgery has been performed successfully and Sam is now recovering in foster care, and is doing very well! We now need to pay the vet bill.

       AVNM supporter Andy Whiteman donated $687.50 recently to help get us closer to our goal.  Thank You, Andy!  Now we just need another $687.50!  

  Sam still needs YOUR help to finish paying for his surgery!

https://theanimalrescuesite.greatergood.com/store/ars/item/76902/help-repuplican-sams-final-surgery

     Donations can also be made directly by phone with credit card to Ruidoso Animal Clinic, 575-257-4027. They will issue you a receipt and let us know that you have donated, so that we can keep up with the needed amounts accurately.

     Bless all who help our Rescued Hearts- they Deserve wonderful lives, no matter what they have been through, and Sam is a WINNER who can make a DIFFERENCE for all abandoned, neglected pets in this state with SO much poverty and animal cruelty!

Jun 01, 2016

Mr. Mugs and Driving Miss Daisy have had their surgery to correct entropian eyelids.  They are both recovering nicely and we can already "see" a difference in them both.  They are walking with more confidence because their vision has improved and they are no longer in pain!  

THANK YOU TO ALL who donated to the campaigns created on GreaterGood.org, on behalf of 'Driving Ms. Daisy,' and 'Mr. Mugs!' Unfortunately we will not get the names of those who donated for these wonderful dogs, but we know that Connie Glass, WA, and Kelly Lee,TX donated BIG TIME, and we thank you both so much!Thank you to all who donated to help this happen!

Thank you, SUSAN ROSENBERG, GreaterGood.org, for being on our 'Animal Village Radio' show! Susan is HILARIOUS...you'll LOVE the story about her childhood show!  

Here's the link to the show!
http://snmradio.com/krsyam/Programs/032116b.m3u

Bless you, Susan Rosenberg and EVERYONE at GreaterGood.org!

May 04, 2016

This Thursday, adopted Old English Bulldog pup Avery begns his forever adventure!  It all starts at AVNM with a car ride to Tuscon airport, courtesy of AVNM supporter Richard Feit and his forever buddy, Mo, whom he adopted from AVNM several years ago.  

From Tuscon, Avery will take his first flight with Pilot Bob Teftt, of Pilots and Paws, aboard Rudy, Bob's favorite mode of transportation.  Bob will taxi Avery to Bob Hope Airport in Burbank, CA, where he will be re-united with his brother, Chooli (formerly Davis) and meet his new forever Mommy, Stephanie.  

We can't say Thank You enough to those involved in getting Avery to California!  But we will try....THANK YOU!!

May 04, 2016

AVNM took part in the recent Earth Day celebration at the Alameda Park Zoo.  This Earth Day was so well attended, there were thousands of people meeting all the super non-profits who are making a difference in New Mexico! From Master Gardeners to Solar and Vegan organizations, to churches and reptiles...it was an amazing collection of knowledgeable, inspiring, passionate people who are committed to a new quality of life!We happily set up a booth and were excited to be able to give out samples of Blue Buffalo cat and dog food to folks who visited with us.  

We are super excited about all the wonderful contacts we were able to make.  We signed up six new volunteers, and had quite a few people sign up to receive our newsletters! We were delighted to be able to educate the community about our K-9 Obedience classes, Boarding facility, and great ways to help AVNM like donating shoes for our shoe drive, and online shopping through Goodshop.com.  

A huge Thank You to Joe Savage for helping us get all our equipment there and set up!  

Apr 16, 2016

Before Nancy Berg gave me the chance to open Animal Village NM, we fostered and adopted from our homes.  I just got this photo of one of several Alamo Pitbull pound dogs I got out before AVNM, two of whom I adopted to a super wonderful girl, who now lives in Arizona.

8 Years later, Maxx...on his way with mom to Starbucks in Scottsdale!

Sunny Aris, Director AVNM

Mar 26, 2016

We always asked the same question when introducing visitors to Old English Gargoyle Bulldog, ‘Simon Says.’ We’d say, “How’d you like to wake up to THAT face on your pillow every morning?” We would then suggest that adopting Simon might save thousands in expensive coffee drinks- because who would then need caffeine?

Okay, all jokes about this amazing face aside, Simon Says is also Ball Crazy. We capitalized Crazy. And Toy Crazy. And a little bit- okay, a lot- OCD about those toys.

In fact, we have a video showing Simon Says in our lobby- lining UP the tennis balls he was playing with- all three of them. In a line. Balls.

So you’ve got this intense face, that takes up about a fourth of his body, an intense love for toys, and zero training in manners. At least, that’s what Simon brought to the table when we rescued him from the long-operating and now infamous Old English Bulldog puppy mill in Dona Ana County.

Now who would be up to the challenge of Simon’s intensity? Well, we don’t adopt out dogs who have not been through our training classes, for this very reason- how likely would it be that an inexperienced guardian, overcome by Simon’s LOOKS, would also be overwhelmed by his lack of training and equal intensity? Someone with an infant, or a crazy schedule that could not offer consistency in training, someone who isn’t active, can’t walk him and drain that energy? No.

Well, we wait until the most amazing guardians, Uber-Guardians, come along. It means that it takes longer in many cases to find that person. It means that our dogs are here longer,  because they are trained first, spayed or neutered first, worked with a LOT, and we get to know them…WELL. Then, we do the same with the potential guardians. We get to know THEM well, also.

And when this psychiatric nurse came along, who was totally committed to her own Bulldogs, her veterinarians gave her great references, her personal references were stellar, and then we did a home check and got to know her even better.

And it turned out that a psychiatric nurse from Denver was just the perfect match for an Obsessive-Compulsive Toy Hoarder with a CRAZY cute face from New Mexico.

It’s been a week since Simon Says met Cynthia and her two Bulldogs, Leo and Moo (also a bit toy crazy) in our meet and greet park. It was a great and interesting meeting, with our trainer, Kay McClune, and our Dog Whisperer, Simone Christoph. It was awesome and fun and made us all cry that Simon Says had found his first home and forever family, after years of the nightmare of the decrepit puppy mill, where he’d learned to play fetch with rocks, and the puppy mill operators thought that was funny.

Today, a week later, Cynthia reports that she now has, “…about 100 new dog-sitting volunteers,” and that Simon has won fans in her favorite Denver dog-friendly pub, and just about everywhere else he goes. He has fit right into her home with her two teenagers, and her two Bulldogs, and her life.

And this is Animal Village NM.

Thank you, Cynthia, we are so glad to have you as part of our extended family, and to have another fabulous adoption story from Colorado…with love.

Mar 26, 2016

Sam’s supporters enjoyed a fantastic gourmet meal of *“Firecracker Hamburgers,”

Oven Roasted Chile Butter Corn on the Cob, Morgan’s Famous Asian Slaw, and Chocolate Chip Pretzel cookies! Paula Adams donated sodas and Ernie Hammons brought some cold ones also! The day was perfect, the weather was perfect, and the food was awesome- catered by Morgan Bristow, AVNM board member, and RePUPlican Sam’s First Lady (and foster mom)!

Guests had a great time meeting the candidate, and sharing their animal welfare concerns with the candidate  (see the website for video), “RePUPlican Sam.” Sam ate up all the attention, as always, and gave his undivided attention to his constituents, young and older. Mandatory spay and neuter was a huge concern, with 135,000 dogs and cats being abandoned to New Mexico’s animal control facilities. The subject of puppy mills and lax enforcement by authorities was a big subject with animal lovers also, who want stronger laws against abusers and effective prosecution to end the misery and abuse for victims of backyard breeders. Sam listened attentively and is currently writing a new blog post about the event, and his conclusions (see his blog on our website at www.AnimalVillageNM.org).

Croquet in the park was a great hit, although we suspected we had a ringer in Sara Liepe, German Air Force pilot! Ernie Hammons, Lola’s guardian, was a formidable contender! Sunny Aris, AVNM director, was the only one to get the ball into a hole, which is not the goal. The hole was generously donated by Herbie the Bulldog, who tore out our Rainbird during a night playtime last week (any Rainbird fixers out there).

We were so pleased to have alumni guests, Lola the Pitbull and her new older brother, Snoop the Labrador. Lola was formerly an Alamogordo backyard breeder dog who came to us with 10 puppies about to be born, 7 of whom died from birth defects caused by inbreeding. Christopher Robin, rescued from Alamogordo Animal Control in 2014 attended (and ran off with the croquet ball), and adoptable Catahoula/Shepherd Bailey was in attendance with volunteer Daniel Schwenk. Helen and John Hillegas came with their new adopted 7-year old Poodley guy, Roscoe, and Roscoe is just the cutest little guy!

All in all it was a super event enjoyed by everyone, and we raised $520.00 in donations toward RePUPlican Sam’s final surgery on his other leg, to repair a severely torn ACL.

For those who don’t know our candidate’s story, Yosemite Sam was adopted in 2013 from Animal Village NM, as a 9-month old puppy. Imagine our horror to learn last year that he’d been given to another family in Orlando, Florida-  who weren’t told that he was horribly injured! The new family decided to take him to the pound, because as they described it, “All he does is lay around.” Well…yeah! He was dealing with TWO torn ACL’s and significant arthritis that had developed around the long-term injuries!

Jan 05, 2016

Last year I introduced the $5 x 5 = $100 challenge. We need to take it up a level and get 200 donors to donate $20 a month - That Others May Live (TOML).Here is what we need you to do:1. Please consider committing to a personal donation of $20/month or a single $240 check.2. If you cannot spare $20/month, make it a Team Donation. Commit to just $5/month and recruit three other animal lovers to commit $5/month. Donate as a team and come up with a cool team name, and challenge others to do the same.3. Let your friends and family know about this challenge, and encourage them to make the same commitment.  From our previous “That Others May Live" challenge, we reached 56 monthly donors by Christmas...exceeding our goal of 50. Let’s make 2016 a banner year for AVNM so we can continue to help our furry loved ones. So help us reach our goal, and get the word out.  We thank you from our hearts for your past and continued generosity. That Others May Live…(TOML)  Lt. Col. Michael Brasher,and the amazing Staff and Volunteers of Animal Village NM