Urge our leaders to partner with the ASPCA on shelter repair and reform

I am going to be very blunt: we have the worst case of animal hoarding right inside the Las Cruces, NM, municipal animal shelter at this time. Because of this, the ASPCA is offering to send a team of experts to help us clean up and repair the physical building and train management and stafff on sheltering best practices and animal intake, routing, herd health, shelter medicine, etc. It is a challenge to our leaders and community to work hard for two months to make drastic change, and we'd be fools not to accept this help and make it happen. Where there is a will, there is a way, and conditions are so dire that drastic and immediate action is necessary (it has been for some time). See yesterday's blog post for the ASPCA report and details.

If you want the ASPCA to help our shelter progress and right its wrongs, please contact the Animal Services Center of the Mesilla Valley's oversight board. Right now, it sounds as if many of them have completely closed the door to the ASPCA because of them calling for the shelter to close for 60 days, but there are possibilties and options for what we can do with our homeless animals during that time frame. Our leaders have not even sat down with the ASPCA to work out those details. It is incumbent upon them to do so, as far as I'm concerned.

The board's names, e-mails, and phone numbers are listed next; contact them with your opinions!

Miguel Silva, ASCMV Board Chair, City Councilor, 541-2066, miguel.silva@las-cruces.org

Dolores Connor, Board Member, City Councilor, 541-2066, dconnor@las-cruces.org

Nathan Small, Board Member, City Councilor, 541-2066, nsmall@las-cruces.org

Terrence Moore, Non-Voting Board Member, City Manager, 541-2076, tmoore@las-cruces.org

Scott Krahling, Board Member, County Commissioner, 525-5810, skrahling@donaanacounty.org

Oscar Vasquez-Butler, Board Member, ,County Commissioner, 647-7201, obutler@donaanacounty.org

Jess Williams, Board Member, Dona Ana County Director, 525-5801, jessw@donaanacounty.org

Brian Haines, Non-Voting Board Member, County Manager, 647-7201, brianh@donaanacounty.org