Week of 6/21/10 Humane Happenings

Our work camper, Mel, talking to Mosey, resting comfortably in the shade at Dog Town.

Hot, hot, and hotter! Soon, the monsoon season will be here and with it the summer rains will drench our Desert Southwest and bring much needed relief. Until then, the Desert Haven team is using all the resources at its disposal to keep the furry and feathered residents as comfortable as possible throughout the day in this torrid heat.

With no large shady trees providing needed protection from the three- digit desert heat, our crew has to resort to other means of providing shade for the little ones in its care during the current series of uncomfortable heat waves. We have found out that tarps, mostly the smaller sizes, can successfully cover specific areas inside the sanctuary - in Dog Town especially - providing effective shade during the most intense heat in any given day. If anyone wishes to help us keep tarps handy for shade, we would certainly be most grateful. As many of our active members and supporters are aware of, the resources of the Sierra County Humane Society and Desert Haven are very limited and every donation, either in kind or monetary, is used carefully and effectively.

Nice shot of our work campers Mel & Eve - Mel with Missy and Eve with Dutchess (tough getting doggies to "smile" for the camera"!)

We also thank the generous folks who kindly drop-off bags of pet food at Desert Haven on Tuesday and to Paws & Claws Thrift Shoppe whenever it is open for business (Wednesday 1 PM-4PM, Thursday and Friday 10AM-4PM and Saturday from 10-3 PM). At Dog Town, not counting the larger breeds, we currently care for seventeen small to tiny canines, which is an increase of four since last week, when we rescued four new tiny furry little guys and girls. All these little ones require dog food geared to their small to very small size. Although Desert Haven purchases the “Purina Little Bites” brand for its small army of adult little dogs, any brand specializing on small breeds is most welcome. Treats of all types are a regular part of our dogs’ diet - except rawhide bones, as many of our canine residents tend to fight among themselves over treats that are not totally eaten in one or two bites. If you wish to donate pet food or treats to the dogs and cats of Desert Haven, you can drop-off your contribution directly at the sanctuary on Tuesday or at Paws & Claws when open for business. Please don’t leave anything in front of the store unless you wish to take the risk that unscrupulous characters will likely steal your donation before anyone on our crew can secure it. For more information on our animal welfare organization and Sierra County’s no-kill domestic animal sanctuary, contact us at 575-894-2778 or 575-740-4100. We can also be reached at POB 638, Williamsburg NM, 87942, www.DesertHavenAnimalRefuge.com, www.DesertHavenAnimalRefuge.blogspot.com and at www.facebook.com/deserthaven

Week of 6/14/10 Humane Happenings

by Eliana Aubin


Maxwell

Aside from being home to 37 cats, a large number of domesticated ring neck and white doves, several peacocks, chickens and roosters (most of them miniature), many guinea pigs and one older rabbit, Desert Haven Animal Refuge is also home to 30 dogs of all sizes. There is Maxwell, a very handsome shepherd who has been living at Dog Town for several years now. He was a very young pup when found wandering along a deserted section of the Rio Grande, together with his brother who was also suffering from exposure and malnutrition. There is Vicky the Boxer, also rescued one summer a few years back from the desert near Cuchillo. Vicky shares The Canine Cottage and its play yard with her buddy, Sparky, a young and playful bird dog.

Sparky

There is Mosey the gentle Rhodesian Ridgeback, who shares a play yard with Skye, the heeler. There is also Chowder the heeler-mix and his playmate, Shadow, a handsome, slender black lab. There is old Missy and her sister Duchess, both life-long partners who continue to enjoy each other’s company as they are growing old. Buddy the border collie, Emma the boxer-american bulldog and Ranger the husky share a large play yard.

Copper

There is Copper, a young sheba-inu, also old Jack, a German Shepherd. Then there are the little ones: Penny the chihuahua and Ruffles the terrier are playmates in their foster home at Desert Haven. Tina and Brendle are both Chihuahuas. Sassy and Taffy are Chi-weenies. Rosie, Pippy, Zena are terrier-mix. Tootsie is a fox-terrier. Oscar is a Chihuahua. Sallie is a miniature Pincher. They all live together and share several indoor condos, also the Puppy Play-Yard, the Puppy Club House and its kiddy swimming pool. And now there are the five puppies left from the litter of seven tiny pups abandoned at the entrance of DHAR several weeks ago. They are: Madison, Raider, Corey, Riley and Jasmin. The other two have been adopted already.

This week’s wish list includes dog food for Desert Haven’s adult little dogs. Currently, Dog Town at Desert Haven has twelve (12) small adult resident dogs and their mouths can’t handle the regular size dog food. At this time of the year, we also need several extra dog walkers who can help walk our furry little ones one or more days a week during morning animal care. For more information on how you can support our animal welfare organization in some way, or to adopt a companion animal, contact us at 575-894-2778 or 575-740-4100. We can be reached at POB 638, Williamsburg NM, 87942, www.DesertHavenAnimalRefuge.com, www.DesertHavenAnimalRefuge.blogspot.com and at www.facebook.com/deserthaven

Week of 6/8/10 Humane Happenings

By Eliana Aubin


Eliana and Luke

This past couple of weeks, Desert Haven Animal Refuge has been taking strong measures to give the residents as much protection from the heat wave as possible. The resourceful crew is working hard to keep the animals and birds as cool as possible. Misters and fans are cooling the inside kennels in the Inn at Dog Town and in the Cool Cat Neighborhood. Large tarps are now providing extra shade inside the several doggie play yards. The kitty plastic pools in Dog Town, recently donated to the sanctuary by Shelly & Kevin Salazar of KNS Painting, LLC in Albuquerque, NM, are a hit with all the furry little guy and girl dogs who can’t seem to get enough of the water and can often be seen wading into it and splashing it with pleasure.

As we lovingly care for our little rescues, our hearts break for the neglected dogs and cats in this area. It’s a sad fact that dogs are still seen chained out-of-doors, even in this torrid heat? Without an adequate water source or proper shelter, dogs left outside suffer needlessly and some of them even die – an agonizing and lonely death.

Our organization continues to receive phone calls from folks who wish to report animal cruelty, abuse, or lost or abandoned dogs. Contrary to what some of our readers watch on “Animal Planet”, animal welfare organizations in New Mexico are not legally connected with the Law Enforcement. Consequently, they cannot physically trespass on private properties to rescue domestic animals in distress. This is the duty of the local Animal Control Officer - a public servant whose job is to investigate and properly handle complaints from the public. Anyone witnessing animal neglect or cruelty has the moral obligation to contact Dispatch at 575-894-7111. You can stay anonymous if you wish. Dispatch will then connect with the Animal Control Officer on duty.

Don’t just stop there. Either request a follow-up or call Dispatch again to find out what has been done. Animal cruelty or neglect is punishable by law and we trust that folks who witness it do what is morally right. If there is no follow-up and you realize that nothing is being done, contact our organization at 575-894-2778 or 575-740-4100 or 575-894-2639 and we will then do what is in our power to insure that the law is followed and the animal rescued.


Fun time watching Tuesday AM activities

This week, we appeal once again to our readers for puppy food. The rescued puppies are eating no less than 7-8 lbs of food each day and their food intake keeps growing along with their size. We need dog walkers at DHAR in the morning. For more information on how you can help, or to adopt a companion animal, contact DHAR Animal Care Coordinator Reba Wagner at 575-740-4100.

We can be reached at POB 638, Williamsburg NM, 87942, www.DesertHavenAnimalRefuge.com, www.DesertHavenAnimalRefuge.blogspot.com and at www.facebook.com/deserthaven

Week of 6/1/10 Humane Happenings

Entrance to the Cool Cat Neighborhood


By Eliana Aubin

This week, the Desert Haven Animal Refuge volunteer team wishes to thank St Cloud Mining for the business’ on-going support of Sierra County’s No-Kill domestic animal sanctuary. For many years now, St Cloud Mining generously donates much needed kitty litter for the sanctuary’s felines.

DogTown at DHAR is full to capacity at this time. We wish to acknowledge the continued support of Don Howell of T or C, Mary Roden of Caballo, Susan Newman of Animals Creek Plant Nursery, Rod Heier of Caballo Lake RV Park as well as the contributions we receive anonymously, either at Paws & Claws Thrift Shoppe or Desert Haven.


Canine Cottage and new wading pool

This week, the kindness of Katie Semones of Monticello is allowing us to purchase small swimming pools, also Purina and Pedigree puppy food, the food of choice for our youngest and smallest canine residents. The continued success of our modest but effective sanctuary depends on everyone, from the kind folks who volunteer their time to all those who contribute in some way to help make this operation possible.

It is said that when you take a man’s time, you take part of his life. At this time of the year, our animal welfare organization is appealing to local folks who appreciate what we do and are interested in helping us succeed. The vacation season is here. In normal times, both Paws & Claws and Desert Haven volunteer crews are already small. Now, the volunteers left have to divide time and energy between the thrift shop and the sanctuary. The shortage of help continues until fall, when everything returns to normal and our winter visitors and seasonal work campers return to our area.

Do you appreciate what our animal welfare organization is doing? Do you have at least a couple of hours on your hands each week and a desire to do something that uplifts your spirit and makes you feel productive? Perhaps you enjoy working directly with animals? Do you prefer surrounding yourself with people? Walking with a dog or two by your side is known to be therapeutic and also good physical exercise. We don’t just rescue dogs and cats at Desert Haven, but also doves, peacocks, guinea pigs, rabbits, hens and roosters. For more information on how to help us in some way, contact us at 575-894-2778, 575-740-4100 or write us at POB 638, Williamsburg NM, 87942. Visit us at www.DesertHavenAnimalRefuge.com, www.DesertHavenAnimalRefuge.blogspot.com and at www.facebook.com/deserthaven