Week of 2/20/11 Humane Happenings

by Eliana Aubin

Joe Pack sprucing up the Mutt Hut at Desert Haven

There are folks in Sierra County who care about animals, but they are not sure how to contribute to their welfare. The following are some of the actions that we can take to impact the lives of animals in Sierra County, in our own communities, in our respective neighborhoods. Be on the alert for a stray dog walking in the street for example. Perhaps he has lost his way, or someone abandoned him. That animal needs someone’s help. Let it be you. Keep an eye out and report animal abuse when you see it. Contact the local law enforcement agency. You can remain anonymous when you do so. If you wish to learn the laws regarding animal abuse in New Mexico, you can check right on the web site: www.aspca.org/reportcruelty.

There is always a way for someone to make a difference in the lives of companion animals in your little corner of the world. You can volunteer at Desert Haven Animal Refuge for example. The resident dogs and cats always enjoy the special attention. Any little thing that you do for animals, either at the no-kill sanctuary or in your own neighborhood, is a huge contribution to animals. Just because you cannot do everything you would want to do, you can do something. No action on your part is too small to make the life of these creatures a little brighter. Perhaps even your own lives can be a little brighter by contributing to the happiness of companion animals down-on-their-luck.

This week’s wish list for Desert Haven: dry dog and cat food - carpet remnants - rigid insulation to insulate our pump house - Heavy duty 75ft long water hose - Plywood pieces of all sizes – brooms & scrub brushes.

Interested in learning more about the Sierra County Humane Society, Inc? Perhaps you would like to volunteer at Desert Haven Animal Refuge, Sierra County’s no-kill domestic animal sanctuary. Would you prefer to help out at Paws & Claws Thrift Shoppe? Contact us at 575-894-2778 or 894-1694. We can also be reached at POB 638 Williamsburg, NM 87942. Visit us at www.DesertHavenAnimalRefuge.com. Check our blog at http://DesertHavenAnimalRefuge.blogspot.com. Meet us at www.Facebook/com/deserthaven.

Week of 2/13/11 Humane Happenings

 by Eliana Aubin

Glen Park; Volunteer at Paws & Claws Thrift Shoppe

This week, we wish to inform our readers that The Sierra County Humane Society, which operates Desert Haven Animal Refuge and Paws & Claws Thrift Shoppe, is in no way associated with the people who call themselves “Assets for Animals.” They are currently running an ad in the local papers to attract 'animal-loving' folks to donate items to them. According to their claim, they plan to ultimately distribute your donations to “participating” thrift shops that benefit animals, whether locally or nationwide.

We were very recently invited by the organizers of 'Assets for Animals' to team up with their new venture. Our staff unanimously declined for the following reasons. This is an unknown organization without any verifiable history. Also, why would anyone living in Sierra County choose to have their donations benefit unknown entities outside of the county where we live? In addition, the very few thrift shops whose goal is to contribute to animal care organizations pay salaries to a manager and staff before any profits are allowed to trickle down to benefit animals. Paws & Claws is run entirely by non-paid volunteers and all profits are directly dedicated to the welfare of the animals we can help within Sierra County. Furthermore, P&C Thrift Shoppe operates under the non-profit 501-C-3 umbrella of the SCHS, therefore all your donations are tax deductible, while ‘Assets for Animals’ do not offer that important benefit.

The Sierra County Humane Society believes that being involved with 'Assets for Animals’ is not in the best interest of our local animals. Our animal welfare organization is dedicated to helping Sierra County animals first and foremost. Consequently, until or unless 'Assets for Animals' can insure that all the funds earned from local donations benefit the animals of Sierra County and Sierra County only, the Sierra County Humane Society and P&C Thrift Shoppe will not be associated with this group.

Whereas the Sierra County Humane Society would applaud any organization that can clearly demonstrate their commitment to animal care within our community, we feel obliged to keep our fellow citizens informed of all the information we have received regarding these matters.

If you have any questions or if we can be of service in any way, please feel free to call us at 575-894-1694

This week, our most crucial need is: Dog Walkers at DHAR. While the larger dogs exercise in several groups in the all-fenced Old West Trail every morning, our small breed canine residents are walked individually or two-by-two on a leash. This allows precious interaction between them and the folks who walk them. This takes time and manpower and we currently need more local folks to help us handle that important morning task. Contact Reba at 740-4100 if you wish to help.

Interested in helping at P&C Thrift Shoppe? Call us at 894-2639 or 2778.

For more information, visit us at www.DesertHavenAnimalRefuge.com. and www.Facebook.com/deserthaven. Our mailing address is POB 638, Williamsburg, NM 87942.

Week of 2/6/11 Humane Happenings

By Eliana Aubin

What a storm we all lived through in Sierra County! At Desert Haven Animal Refuge, member of the DHAR team worked closely together to insure that all the animals and birds were as protected as possible from the extreme cold. Pat Madden, who drives twice a week all the way from beyond Hillsboro to help care for the animals donated a new portable propane heater last week. It was immediately installed inside the fully insulated Inn at Dog Town. The heater replaced the one belonging to work campers Carl and Nancy Findling, who generously had let us borrow their own heater when the night temperatures started dropping quickly.

Even with comforters and blankets lining individual dog houses and a heater kept on day and night inside the Inn at Dog Town, even with plenty of straw insulating the birds and guinea pigs habitats inside Birdland & Animal House, even with comforters, pillows and warm blankets inside the Kitty Dormitory, everyone at Desert Haven, humans and non-humans alike, was affected in some way by last week’s extreme temperatures.

When the temperatures allowed it, the dogs were eager to get out of the Inn and into their play yard and also get the chance to run again to their hearts content all over the fenced Wild West Trail area.

Can you help us renew our now-depleted supply of warm blankets, pillows and area rugs? We need them for our resident dogs and cats. All donations can either be dropped off at DHAR or at Paws & Claws during business hours. Please remember that any item, box or bag of items left in front of the shop when it is closed for business runs an extremely high risk to be stolen within a few moments by unsavory individuals who are making a lifestyle of profiting from others in one way or the other. We will pick up if needed.

We still have plenty of straw for the rest of the winter. We owe our good fortune to Jeanette Galliard of Albuquerque and to local resident Bobby Dawkins. Several times a year, Jeanette drives all the way from Albuquerque with a truck load full of straw and alfalfa that she generously donates to the sanctuary. This past summer, Bobby Dawkins chose Desert Haven to donate over a hundred bales of hay that he said could not be fed to his horses. Thanks to these two great folks, Birdland & Animal House continue to have plenty of straw to protect its residents from the extreme cold we are experiencing this Winter.

Along with warm blankets and pillows, this week’s high priority items are dry cat food, cracked corn and bird & sunflower seeds.

Interested in learning more about us or helping us in some way? Contact us at 894-2778 or 740-4100. Visit our web site at www.DesertHavenAnimalRefuge.com. Check us out on www.Facebook.com/deserthaven. Our mailing address is POB 638, Williamsburg, NM 87942.