WMR News:RIO RANCHO ― Watermelon Mountain Ranch and Best Friends Animal Society are partnering with the overcrowded Palm Valley Animal Center in Edinburg, Texas to help with lifesaving transports and support.
The transport effort will move 800 dogs and puppies from Texas to other parts of the country by Thanksgiving. The dogs will be available for adoption by the holiday season.
Watermelon Mountain Ranch and Best Friends are working together to bring a group of 100+ dogs from the Texas-based Palm Valley Animal Center to the Albuquerque Metro Area. Since Tuesday, Oct. 23, 74 dogs have been transferred to Watermelon Mountain Ranch from the Palm Valley Animal Center.
Puppy fosters, fosters with experience with nursing moms, and more are needed immediately. For more information about fostering dogs, contact the foster coordinator at fosterwmr@aol.com.
Recognizing that many families look to acquire a puppy around the holiday season, Watermelon Mountain Ranch and Best Friends welcome these dogs to the Albuquerque Metro Area where they can find their forever homes. Many of the dogs will be featured at the Cottonwood Mall adoption center in Albuquerque on Coors and Ellison. More will be featured at offsite adoption events on the weekend.
Nearly all of the animals that are transported on these emergency missions are in need of medical care. The care includes: booster shots, spay/neuter surgery, kennel cough treatment, upper respiratory treatment, heartworm treatment, and more. Fundraisers will be held to offset the cost of care and get the dogs ready for adoption.
The transport effort targets regions where demand is high, and these populations of dogs and puppies are scarce. By transporting these highly adoptable dogs into areas where they are not otherwise available, organizations are able to provide the types of dogs families are looking for.
The Palm Valley Animal Center receives approximately 32,000 pets each year and an average of 44 animals are killed there every day due to lack of space.
These are highly adoptable puppies, small dogs, and popular breed mixes that are in demand in other parts of the country and would be adopted quickly.
At the Palm Valley Animal Center, the average population of puppies is 100-200 each week. The number 800 was chosen for this rescue and transport effort because it represents four to five weeks’ worth of puppies at this shelter.
Watermelon Mountain Ranch is supporting Best Friends Animal Society’s efforts to make the country no-kill by 2025. Best Friends is working to reduce the killing of dogs and cats in shelters through many different avenues, including creating programs, providing grants, and helping Network Partners across the nation save lives.
About Watermelon Mountain Ranch
Watermelon Mountain Ranch is New Mexico’s largest no kill animal shelter. Established in 2002 WMR has grown from a foster based facility to encompassing 10 acres in Northern Rio Rancho, adoption centers throughout ABQ metro area, and a free standing adoption center inside of Cottonwood Mall. Since the gates opened WMR has been able to help the save the lives of over 150,000 animals from all across the Southwest. WMR has expanded programs to include: Humane Education, Adoption Program, Foster Care for Canine and Feline, Low Cost Spay & Neuter Clinic, Low Cost Shot Clinic, Juvenile Justice Program for Teens at Risk, Special Needs Adult & Child Program, Molly’s Mercy Missions and Volunteer Program. The mission of WMR is to foster the animal-human bond.
For more information visit wmranch.org or follow us on social media.
About Best Friends Animal Society
Best Friends Animal Society is a leading national animal welfare organization dedicated to ending the killing of dogs and cats in America’s shelters. In addition to running lifesaving programs in partnership with more than 2,200 animal welfare groups across the country, Best Friends has regional centers in New York City, Los Angeles, Atlanta and Salt Lake City, and operates the nation’s largest no-kill sanctuary for companion animals. Founded in 1984, Best Friends is a pioneer in the no-kill movement and has helped reduce the number of animals killed in shelters nationwide from 17 million per year to about 1.5 million. That means there are still more than 4,100 dogs and cats killed every day in shelters, just because they don’t have safe places to call home. We are determined to get that number to zero by the year 2025. Working collaboratively with shelters, rescue groups, other organizations and you, we will end the killing and Save Them All. For more information, visit bestfriends.org.
To become a fan of Best Friends on Facebook, go to Facebook.com/bestfriendsanimalsociety. Follow Best Friends on Twitter (@BestFriends) and Instagram (@BestFriendsAnimalSociety).
