The Santa Fe Humane Society and Shelter has spent most of its time this year—and other years—filled to near-capacity with animals.
But when floods hit the burn scars around nearby Las Vegas in June, the local shelter immediately stepped up and agreed to take in even more dogs.
The City of Las Vegas Animal Care Center, like all organizations there, were told that the city was running out of water. They would have to move their animals somewhere as quickly as possible.
For Dylan Moore, the senior director of shelter operations in Santa Fe, it wasn’t immediately clear how his staff would be able to pitch in.
But after a few phone calls, and a lot of administrative labor, workers with the ASPCA were flying to New Mexico with a plan to take 30 dogs from Santa Fe to Ohio to clear room for the rest of the Las Vegas pups—about 25 of them.
Dylan Moore said they pulled it off, but it wasn’t easy.
“ It's a lot of moving pieces. It was more than 50 dogs coming and going in the space of three days. That's a lot, said Moore.“
On a Friday afternoon a few weeks after the transfer, the Santa Fe shelter, hit by the typical July increase in new dog arrivals, was packed with pups. Moore and his colleagues had to get creative about housing the animals.
Many of them had to be penned right in staff members’ offices. That means when you stroll into your office, things might not be the way you left them, especially if someone gets restless overnight.
“This morning when we came into work, the brown and white one, the more active one, had had a field day with her desk," said Moore.
"The first 20 minutes is, 'Where... how do I plug my computer back in... and where's the notes that I needed from this thing? ... and putting all that back together. “
Despite the overflow, operations appear to be going smoothly at the Santa Fe shelter.
But the full house means this is the moment for anyone thinking of adopting to get over there.
“Now is a great time to go to the shelter and look for a dog because you have lots to choose from," Moore said.
"You want a big dog, they probably have a big dog. You want a little dog, they probably have a little dog. There isn't a shelter in New Mexico that is under capacity. It's just a great time to go meet all the dogs in a shelter, fall in love and adopt a dog, save a life.”
The nationwide Clear the Shelters initiative is ongoing until September 10. New pet parents can save on adoption fees during the event. Santa Fe is aiming to find 150 animals a new home by the end of the month-long push. Learn more about it at sfhumanesociety.org.
