International Homeless Animals Day

Hey, Animal Lovers!

You’re Invited to Celebrate ‘INTERNATIONAL HOMELESS ANIMALS DAY’ at AnimalVILLAGENM No-Kill Shelter in Our ‘Barking’ Lot, this Saturday, 9a-2p! We’re located at 7246 Hwy. 54 70. We’re pulling out all the stops: PAW program low-cost spay-neuter registrations, 50% adoption fees for pre-approved adopters, microchip services, service dog and in-home K-9 training information, huge Boho jewelry sale, shelter tours, silent auction, raffles…and a Vegan menu for you to try!

AnimalVILLAGENM staff, volunteers, and visitors will join the worldwide crusade to enlighten society, elected officials, and the media about the urgent need for affordable spay/neuter and adoption programs. We’ll join animal lovers all over the world on this special day to halt the euthanasia and suffering of unwanted companion animals, feral and stray cats and dogs who have been abandoned and left to fend for themselves. New Mexico has the highest pet *abandonment rate per capita in America, with 135,000 dogs and cats being abandoned to kill facilities annually, with only four actual no-kill shelters still open in the state. We need YOUR support!

Dedicated individuals, rescue centers, shelters, animal-welfare groups and their supporters, will celebrate their love and concern by attending events that create a positive impact on the lives of animals. Joining AnimalVILLAGENM in this celebration supports the work of this NO-KILL shelter. We have rescued 68 endangered dogs from the nearby Mescalero Apache Reservation since October 2018. These high-risk dogs presented extraordinary veterinary costs. Most were suffering from starvation, worms, and/or giardia, coccidiosis, and other issues. All needed to be spayed or neutered. These surgeries cost $125-$400 each, depending on the stability of the dogs. Our NO-KILL shelter currently cares for 50 adoptable dogs and puppies, and 35 cats and kittens, with a full-time staff, on 9 acres.

Animal lovers around the world want to see the end to animal suffering. To help our animal friends and their guardians in our area, we will offer microchipping, adoptions, dog walks, tours, information tables, and more. At AnimalVILLAGENM NO-KILL shelter, we’re offering registrations for $45 spay-neuter surgery to low-income pet guardians through PAW (Partnership for Animal Welfare) and 50 percent dog and cat adoption fees for pre-approved adopters. Humane Society of Southern New Mexico and Un-Caged Paws of Las Cruces will join us, offering free microchip updates to make sure pet guardians’ contact info is accurate and $7 microchip installations, saving pet guardians up to $70 each! If you are not close enough to celebrate with us, we hope that you will support those organizations in your area. Here is a link here to help you find them: https://isaronline.org/isars-international-homeless-animals-day-set-to-shed-light-on-pet-overpopulation-epidemic-and-the-spay-neuter-and-adoption-solution/

Laura Hart, AnimalVILLAGENM Care Supervisor, is excited about the ‘Barking’ Lot Party. “This is my first year with AnimalVILLAGENM, and I’ve never loved a job more. I’m really hoping that we have a lot of support with visitors at this event, to raise money and awareness about the challenges a poor state presents to the huge effort of keeping a NO-KILL shelter open to the abandoned animals who need us. We’re trying to improve the quality of life for all animals. But we’re also here for the people whose lives are more complete, and happy, because of their pets. Any pet guardian will tell you how much their lives are changed by having a pet who loves them- and I’m one of them! I’m looking forward to giving shelter tours this Saturday, and to answering any questions our visitors have about our NO-KILL shelter. I’m also doing the ‘meet and greets’ for pre-approved adopters, to make sure their current pets, and the pets they’re interested in here, get along. We’re all about a great adoption match with one- or more- of our healthy dogs and cats!”

A silent auction with framed art by local artists such as Michael Hurd and Anne French, as well as an antique armoire, and collectibles will be offered. Marty McFarland of Hobbs will be hosting a ‘Boho’ jewelry sale, with hundreds of necklaces, bracelets, and earrings she designed expressly for this fundraiser. “I love the work that AnimalVILLAGENM does, and I help out in any way I can, even though I live a few hours away. We can ALL help homeless pets in some way at AnimalVILLAGENM!”

Items for dogs and cats and pet basket raffle tickets will be sold. Chances for door prizes will be given to: adopters, registrants for low-cost spay-neuter, donors of 25+ pairs of gently used or new shoes, or cases or bags of pet food for the shelter’s community pet food bank.

$45 spay/neuter surgeries for low income pet owners in Otero and Lincoln, may be scheduled for Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, 2-4 p.by Volunteer Coordinator Lisa Yehle. “Lisa’s booth is always popular, because so many people are struggling financially in our area, and simply cannot afford hundreds of dollars for spay neuter services,” explained Nancy Berg, AnimalVILLAGENM co-founder. “Our P.A.W. program runs on donations only, without salaries or office expense, since 2007. With the help of Ruidoso Animal Clinic, and now Alamogordo Animal Hospital, we’ve helped to provide more than 7,000 surgeries. This naturally makes a big dent in the numbers of pets being destroyed at the animal control facilities,” Ms. Berg continued.

AnimalVILLAGENM is again happy to have very special K-9 advice and demonstrations available, offered by associate K-9 partner, Nathaniel Lukas of PHD, Pets and Helping Dogs. “So many people on base and in the community need help from service dogs, support dogs, and basic in-home training. We have always offered free onsite K-9 training to our adopters, but there is a huge need for in-home help, to bring calm and safety to pets and their families. We receive requests for help of this kind all the time, and until PHD arrived, there were few choices,” added AnimalVILLAGENM director, Sunny Aris. “Lukas is so highly skilled and educated, and so compassionate, that it’s not only helping our shelter dogs, but our community. Not all behavior issues can be handled in a public place- many just have to be handled in the home where they occur. Lukas fills that need.”

Bring us your SHOES, and we’ll give you a Raffle ticket! To help raise fund for the care of dozens of adoptable dogs and cats, this fundraising event also offers attendees the opportunity to bring used shoes and boots for the shelter’s year-round shoe drive, which helps indigent people around the world, as well as shelter pets. The no-kill shelter staff also asks attendees to bring pet food of all kinds for their free pet food bank, for area pet guardians struggling to feed their pets. “We ask volunteers to mix it into a ‘rescue mix,’ so that different grades of food are all blended. This reduces stomach upsets for those who need help again,” explains Lisa Yehle, volunteer and PAW, Partnership for Animal Welfare President.”

Albertson’s Market has donated gift certificates and a discount on food purchased for this event, which will feature a vegan menu. “Many people want to lower cholesterol, lose weight, or address blood pressure issues, and all of us want to help the planet. Those thinking about having a special vegan night, even once a week, will have the opportunity to purchase vegan dishes, first come, first served, while supplies last.”

The International Homeless Pets Day will be a fast-paced event, 9a-2p, so visitors are encouraged to be here early if possible.

‘Barking’ Lot Event Features:

DJ Judi Valentine
Deadline Wednesday, August 15: 50 percent adoption fees to pre-approved adopters (must have. PAW program Low-Cost Spay-Neuter registrations for low-income pet guardians).
“Check the Chip”: free microchip updates, and $7 microchip installations for all pets offered by HSSNM, partnered with Un-Caged Paws of Dona Ana County
Service/Support Dog training and In-Home K-9 training offered by Lukas Nathaniel, PHD, PetsandHelpingDogs.com
Door prizes, pet baskets, pet items and toys, 50/50 and other raffles
'Boho’ Jewelry sale by Marty McFarland
Silent auction with art by local artists, antiques, and collectibles
Adoptable dogs on leash to meet visitors in the parking lot.
Plant Sale featuring Native Night Blooming Cacti, and potted, perennial lantana plants.
Volunteer sign-ups
Shelter tours 9:30a, 11:00a, 1:00p
A kissing photo booth will be available (during cool hours) for pet lovers to take a photo with adoptable rescue dogs, and with AnimalVILLAGENM mascot, “Lunchbox McGee,” a bulldog rescued from a puppy mill in Dona Ana County. Donations gratefully accepted by McGee!
Meet DK, our rescue dog from the reservation, rescued after being shot multiple times, and left for dead-he’ll be giving kisses for donations to his veterinary bill.