Stray Dogs, Cats Get New Digs

Custom made and arriving all the way from Pennsylvania, the portable building that will serve as temporary quarters for stray cats and dogs arrived in Corrales last week. The shelter has been positioned atop a concrete slab that has been awaiting its arrival at the north end of the village complex.

The building will serve as a temporary facility for lost or wayward animals. The shelter with kennels for dogs and cages for cats will hold animals while awaiting their owners to retrieve them. If the animals are not claimed or abandoned, efforts are made to adopt them out.

"The main thing is we’re a no-kill village, so any place we send an animal to, they have to honor that no-kill policy,” said Village Clerk Melanie Romero, who is project manager for the shelter. “This is for temporary holding until they can move onto their real home of a facility that will adopt them out.”

The village works with numerous organizations that foster and care for animals while they await adoption. The animals are held at the temporary shelter from three to five days before attempts are made to adopt them out.

The 40 x 14 foot building contains three areas. On one side are four kennels for dogs that allow them to go inside or outside through a pet door.

At the other end is a area to hold cats. It, too, has a catio that gives cats a chance to maybe catch some sunshine.

In the middle is an area where a washer and dryer can be installed for cleaning towels and bedding.

The current Animal Services building will continue to be used by animal services personnel, but the kennels will be converted to storage space.

There’s still work to be done before the shelter is up and running. Romero said the building will be stuccoed to match the others buildings in the administrative complex.

Romero said the village is targeting Sept. 29 for its opening. A ribbon cutting ceremony will likely be held the first week of October.

The shelter building cost about $270,000. Most of it was paid for by a generous gift of $242,000 from the Dennis Friends Foundation. Sandoval County Commissioner Catherine Bruch also steered about $25,000 in legislative funding to the project.

“It will improve the life of animals when they are here,” Romero said.