This puppy is one of hundreds of animals that the Animal Welfare Coalition has helped spay or neuter throughout the region.
If you live in Las Vegas, you know about the dogs.
You know there are large dog packs running on the streets. Maybe your grandma doesn’t want to walk down by the river because she doesn’t feel safe. Some are feral, while others are pets, and they run all over the place.
Everyone has an opinion about what to do, but things don’t seem to change.
This series will look at animal control issues in Las Vegas, from a solution-oriented point of view, exploring not just the problem, but what we might be able to do about it.
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Whether they have owners, are strays on the street or awaiting a forever home at the shelter, animals in San Miguel County often rely on animal welfare advocates and nonprofit organizations to help meet their needs.
Animal Advocates of Northern New Mexico, the Friends of San Miguel County Animals and the Animal Welfare Coalition of Northeastern New Mexico are three local groups that aim to help area animals and the people who care for them.
‘We’re pretty much animal control’: Animal Advocates of Northern New Mexico responds to calls, promotes pet fostering and adoption
Animal Advocates of Northern New Mexico is a point of contact for many in the community when faced with an animal-related issue. The group’s founder and president Ashley Ann Arellanes said its members – about 10-15 people strong – receive calls about animals in need daily.
“Our phones are constantly ringing, people are messaging us on Facebook … we receive … about 20 messages a day between all of our members,” Arellanes said. “It’s gotten to a point now where we’re pretty much animal control.”
What the Advocates’ do after receiving a call about an animal depends on the situation, Arellanes said. Advocates may contact the animal shelter, the city’s animal control, or find a way to get the animal a foster.
Fostering has been a big part of the group’s efforts since it started in September 2023, Arellanes said. The group, which back then had about 30 members, fostered street dogs. Arellanes said the group has since taken about 30-40 dogs off the streets of Las Vegas.
“I think every member in our group has fostered a dog at some point or another,” she said. “Some of us have multiples.”
The Advocates now work closely with Bea Gallegos, manager of the City of Las Vegas Animal Care Center, to primarily foster dogs from the shelter. In order to best foster dogs, Arellanes said several of the group’s members have received dog behavioral training through Gallegos as well as through Julie Hart, president of Friends of San Miguel County Animals.
The Advocates also work to find animals permanent homes. One of their initiatives involves an adoption event every Sunday from 11 a.m.-1:30 p.m. at Prairie Hill Café. At this event, a dog from the local shelter stays at the café so people can meet and interact with the dog.
One dog that has been featured at the Prairie Hill Café is Jakey, a mixed-breed pup that Arellanes has been fostering since February. Arellanes said Jakey was found in February at the age of 7-8 weeks by a West Las Vegas High School student. Jakey was skin and bones at that time, Arellanes said. She soon chose to foster the dog.
Although several people have expressed an interest in adopting Jakey he still lives with Arellanes.
“He has a great home here with us in the meantime,” Arellanes said. “If he ever gets adopted, I’m willing to take on that risk as well.”
“He deserves a good fit, for sure.”
The Advocates also help take dogs to adoption events across the state, Arellanes said.
Although fostering and promoting adoption became a crucial part of what the group does, Arellanes said that, over time, members have come face-to-face with what she referred to as the challenges of the local animal welfare system. The group now aims to help the community overcome these challenges to caring for their pets, Arellanes said.
Efforts that the Animal Advocates of Northern New Mexico helps with include straw distribution to help keep pets warm, building dog houses for those who cannot afford them and helping with vet care bills, Arellanes said.
Helping the community in this way relates to one of the main goals of the group, which is to unify animal welfare efforts in the area, Arellanes said. This involves consolidating the efforts of local law enforcement/the judicial system, nonprofits, and the Las Vegas animal shelter, she said.
The concept of unifying animal welfare efforts is one that Arellanes got from Marshall Poole, former board president of the Animal Welfare Coalition.
“(Poole) said there’s different parts of animal welfare,” Arellanes said. “There’s (advocacy) groups and nonprofits; law enforcement (and) the judicial system. … Then you have a good shelter and a good adoption system.”
All of those efforts are like the legs to a chair, Poole told Arellanes. Without one of those legs the chair is not strong and cannot be used.
Arellanes said she believes the solution to the animal welfare situation in Las Vegas is to ensure that law enforcement/the judicial system, the animal shelter and nonprofits are working in tandem.
She said that solving the animal issues in Las Vegas “is doable.”
“Some people say this is a problem that will carry on for years, and it is, but I also think that this is something that if we’re all in. … (If) we all do all that we can to accomplish it together, I think the possibility of it ending and us getting control over it is real,” Arellanes said.
Animal Advocates of Northern New Mexico can be contacted via their Facebook page. Arellanes can be reached at ashleyannarellanes@gmail.com or 505-617-5995.
Animal Welfare Coalition maintains dedication to education, spay and neuter
The Animal Welfare Coalition of Northeastern New Mexico began in 2008 by locals who felt “compelled to address the cruelty and neglect of cats and dogs in and around Las Vegas,” said AWC president Jacqueline Aragon in an email statement to The Optic.
The AWC honed in on its mission during its time managing the city’s animal shelter from 2013-2022. This is when AWC members gained awareness of community needs surrounding animal welfare, Aragon said.
“Overseeing the shelter gave us firsthand experience of the dire need of low-cost spay and neuter resources along with the importance of bringing humane education into our schools,” Aragon said.
Low-cost and no-cost spay/neuter clinics as well as humane education have remained priorities for the AWC. The group hosts quarterly, no-cost spay and neuter clinics, Aragon said. In 2023, the AWC held three spay and neuter clinics that served more than 580 animals.
Vaccines and microchips were also provided to more than 700 animals, Aragon said. Intermittent vaccination and microchipping clinics have been provided by the AWC through a partnership with local vets. Aragon said the vaccine clinics are made possible by Petco Love, a national animal welfare charity.
The AWC has also distributed more than 1,000 pounds of dog and cat food with the help of local food pantry partners. Volunteers have helped them build feral cat houses to help felines during the winter. The AWC is currently partnering with organizations to help distribute pet food to families in need, Aragon said.
“We are looking forward to continuing to serve the community for many more years to come,” Aragon said in her email statement. “(We) want to extend our deepest appreciation for everyone who continues to support us, share our mission, and share our passion for making our community a safe, happy, and healthy place for all animals and people.”
Those interested in the AWC’s spay and neuter clinics are encouraged to sign up by calling the AWC at 505-426-6715. Those interested in volunteering with the AWC should also call this number for more information, Aragon said.
Information about the AWC can also be found on their website, https://www.animalwelfarenewmexico.org/, and their Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/animalwelfarenewmexico.
Friends of San Miguel County Animals supports shelter, community outreach efforts
When the city took control of the City of Las Vegas Animal Care Center in 2023, there was a need for the shelter to have a supporting nonprofit. The Friends of San Miguel County Animals was created to fill that role, said Julie Hart, the organization’s president.
“A lot of shelters have supporting nonprofits,” Hart said. This is part of the FSMCA’s mission, along with spay and neuter efforts and community outreach.
Hart noted that FSMCA is not a rescue organization; but rather, it is a support organization that helps the shelter when city funds cannot.
“We buy things the shelter needs that are short notice,” Hart said. “And also, things that the city’s procurement office has a hard time getting.”
Hart said the FSMCA has purchased kitten and puppy milk replacer when the shelter needed it. If done through the city’s procurement system, the milk replacer would have taken weeks to purchase, which simply is not practical when baby animals need the product right away, Hart said.
Other crucial and timely necessities the FSMCA has helped with include vet care for emergency cases and gasoline to help transport dogs to Colorado, Hart said. The FSMCA has also helped the shelter purchase a security system.
Spay and neuter efforts are also a priority for the FSMCA. The organization has taken local animals to the Española Humane Society to get them spayed and neutered. The organization has also brought a mobile spay/neuter clinic to Las Vegas.
The second annual Howl-oween Pet Festival will be a community outreach event for the FSMCA, Hart said. Howl-oween is set to take place on Oct. 19 from 12-4 p.m. at Carnegie Park.
The event is only open to dog-friendly dogs, Hart said. It will include an agility course as well as a costume contest at 2 p.m. Prizes will be awarded for the best pet costumes.
The FSMCA has a five-member board of directors, Hart said, and the organization has a need for more volunteers.
To get in touch with Friends of San Miguel County Animals, visit their website at fsmcanimals.com.
Nonprofits, volunteers from outside Las Vegas help animal shelter through water crisis
When a torrential storm on June 21 led to flooding, evacuations and a compromised city water system, restrictions on water usage challenged operations at the City of Las Vegas Animal Care Center.
The animal shelter – which typically houses about 60 animals at any given time – was forced to find a way to reduce water use while still adequately caring for its dogs and cats.
Fortunately, the local shelter quickly got help in relocating most of its animals – and hence, reducing its water use – after several volunteer organizations and nonprofits from across New Mexico offered to help. About 70 animals were transferred out at the time, said City of Las Vegas Animal Care Center Manager Bea Gallegos.
Organizations that came to the local shelter’s aid were the Santa Fe Animal Shelter, Animal Humane New Mexico in Albuquerque, Best Friends Animal Society and a couple of shelter partners in Colorado, Gallegos said. Organizations even took in medical cases, which they typically do not do, she said.
“They really stepped up in a huge way,” Gallegos said. “That gave us room to almost restart.”
Aside from animal groups, Gallegos said the shelter also got help from Rocky Road Construction, which donated a water tank so shelter staff could further reduce their reliance on the city’s water.
Gallegos said the majority of the transferred animals found homes. After the water crisis was mostly over, she said, only six of the nearly 70 transferred animals returned to Las Vegas.
“That was amazing,” Gallegos said. “They found permanent placement for most of our animals. Even the ones in Colorado, most of them have homes.”
At the moment, the city’s animal shelter still has a need for volunteers. Those interested in volunteering with the Animal Care Center must visit the Human Resources office at the city’s Police Department.
The Las Vegas Animal Care Center is open Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 10 a.m-4 p.m. To reach the shelter, call 505-426-3289.
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