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Roswell
Daily Record
January, 2006
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April
Amadon
Record Vistas Editor
Stray dogs and cats are scattered among the streets of Roswell,
foraging for food and struggling to find shelter. Every year,
thousands of unwanted animals are put to sleep at the city's
Animal Control facility.
The Animal Welfare Alliance, a group of Roswell residents
concerned about the overpopulation problem, is taking action.
"I think it's important to fight for all rights, especially
the most vulnerable ‹ children and animals ‹ that
can't do anything," said Jo McInerney, the group's vice-president.
AWA was founded in 2001 in Chaves County and underwent a major
reorganization in 2005.
The group's members including President Judy Hathcoat, Secretary
Natalie Stewart-Smith, Treasurer Bonnie Montgomery and Board
Director Shannon Cobb were already active in the animal welfare
community.
"We were all kind of working independently of each other,
doing the same objective, so we all decided to get together
and do a non-profit, so we could get grants and start really
kind of organizing," McInerney said.
The main mission of the group is to curb overpopulation of
dogs and cats, focusing on aggressive spay-neuter programs.
"Our objective is to get as many spayed and neutered
as possible," McInerney said.
The group held its first spay-neuter clinic on Jan. 18 at
Casa Querencia Animal Health & Consulting Center, where
Dr. Leandro Gutierrez performed operations on 13 cats and
four dogs.
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The
next clinic will be held in early February. Hathcoat
said AWA plans to offer the operations free for people
on disability, those who are unemployed and those who
are 65 or older.
The clinics will be held "as funds allow,"
Hathcoat said. "We'll be asking for donations at
the surgery clinic. If they can donate anything to that,
that will help us at the next clinic." |
To take part in the clinics, dogs must be at least four months
old and weigh at least eight pounds, and be no older than
three years or weigh over 60 pounds. The goal for the next
clinic is to spay or neuter 20 dogs.
AWA also pushes people to take advantage of spay-neuter programs
available in Chaves County.
The Charlotte Goodrich program provides free spay-neuter operations
for cats in Roswell. Pet owners need to make an appointment
for the operation with a Roswell veterinarian, and the paperwork
is filled out at the vet's office.
"We have an absolutely free program for the cats,"
Hathcoat said. "There is no reason for us to have mama
cats and their entire litters brought in (to the shelter)
day after day in the spring and summer. That's absolutely
senseless. That should leave us just the dog problem to fix."
The Marge Sundquist Foundation provides vouchers for $100
toward a spay-neuter operation on a dog. To get a voucher,
pet owners must fill out a post card with their name, address
and phone number and send it to the Roswell Humane Society,
703 E. McGaffey Ave. Six dogs per week receive vouchers.
"Every female we fix, we've prevented many generations
of puppies," Hathcoat said. "It takes the stress
off the family of having unwanted puppies to care for."
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Spaying
and neutering can also prevent a heartbreaking experience
- having to bring a litter of puppies or kittens to
the shelter at the City of Roswell Animal Control,
where animals are generally kept for seven days before
being euthanized and more than 4,000 unwanted animals
are put down every year.
"You walk away hoping to God that maybe somebody
will take one home, but generally that's not the case,"
McInerney said. "That's our goal, to bring those
kill rates down, to get people to understand the importance
of spay and neuter."
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Another main goal of AWA has been to bring about positive
changes at Animal Control. AWA members volunteer at the shelter,
making sure cages are cleaned and the animals have enough
food and water.
Until September 2004, the facility had been euthanizing animals
using a Carbon Monoxide chamber. The Occupational Safety and
Health Association found the chamber was in need of repair
and was leaking Carbon Monoxide gas, making it less effective
and posing a threat to Animal Control workers.
McInerney and Hathcoat, together with other AWA members and
volunteers, lobbied for Animal Control to make the switch
to lethal injection, which they call a more humane and reliable
form of euthanasia.
Jo
McInerney |
"Probably
the biggest thing that happened at the shelter that
we did was to shut down that gas chamber," McInerney
said. "We, I think, have made significant changes
at the facility by transitioning into lethal injection,
using vets to actually look at the animals and make
medical decisions for them."
Local veterinarians now visit Animal Control several
times a week to perform lethal injections. |
"Since that happened, I think that's been the catalyst
to change the whole shelter itself," McInerney said.
"With that, we've been involved on a voluntary basis,
moving that forward into a facility to be proud of."
Hathcoat said with hard work and dedication, the Roswell facility
could become a shining example for other cities to follow.
Some progress is needed, she said, including laundry facilities,
improvements in heating and air conditioning and an improved
euthanasia bay.
"That facility is aged, and it is poorly designed by
modern standards," she said. "That does not mean
it cannot be repaired and run like an exemplary facility.
...It doesn't have to be big and shiny and like Santa Fe for
us to be proud of it."
McInerney agrees.
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"The
building isn't what makes a shelter," she said.
"The people, the way they handle their treatment
of the animals and their well-being, and how they
treat the public, too - it makes all the difference
in the world."
Recently, AWA went to the city council and the city
finance committee and requested funding for a full-time
kennel manager and a kennel worker. This was approved,
and an agreement should be reached within the next
month, McInerney said.
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"That will turn the tide of the kennel," she said.
AWA has also petitioned the city council to pass ordinances,
such as multiple-animal permits to help guard against animal
neglect and abuse in Roswell homes.
Both McInerney and Hathcoat believe Roswell has the resources
necessary to fix the problems of overpopulation. It's just
a matter of working together to get it done.
"It's a community-wide problem, and it can be fixed,"
Hathcoat said. "Ordinances are a part of that, and animal
welfare organizations, the community contributing - it's something
that can be fixed. And we can see mathematically, when the
euthanasia numbers start going down, we can chart the improvements."
The group relies solely on tax-deductible donations. They
are also seeking foster homes for puppies and kittens from
Animal Control, including "bottle baby" foster homes
to care for animals only a few days old.
AWA also accepts donations to help families or individuals
who cannot afford to spay or neuter their dog, or to obtain
a rabies vaccination.
Donations can be sent to AWA, P.O. Box 2762 Roswell, NM,
88202-2762.
Volunteers are always welcome.
For more information, call 317.7439. |
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