Winter puts chill on adoptions, dumping
Happily, the summer flood of abandoned cats and dogs slowed in the fall, and Corrales Animal Control was able to see some animals find homes. But an unusual number of puppies have been left in the Village lately, including a heeler mix dubbed Blue, and a Jack Russell terrier called Roxy, both just a few months old. Both eventually found homes.
A lively young dog called Snuggles was initially taken by Animal Humane, but returned for showing aggression toward other dogs. Back at Corrales Kennels, she has never shown aggression and is reported to be excitable but easily calmed.
One dog found in a Corrales yard had a happy ending when its microchip was traced to an Albuquerque family that had lost the dog out of an RV when they stopped for coffee. The family was headed for the East Coast, but turned around in Fort Worth, Texas, to retrieve the dog, and chose to vacation in Silver City instead.
Wildlife activity has also quieted down in the Village, and Animal Control has no recent reports of coyote predation, amid the controversy over the Los Lunas coyote hunt last month. Animal Control officer Catherine Garcia recalls finding one coyote pup last year that appeared to have been shot, with its tail taken as a trophy, but Animal Control has seen no other evidence of coyote hunting in the Village.
Animal Control did find themselves herding sheep on Loma Larga last month when a herd of about ten animals escaped through an open gate and had to be led back to Camino Arco Iris. “That street has the only stop sign on Loma Larga,” says officer Garcia, “and everyone definitely stopped.”
A number of Corrales rescue groups and fosters have become involved in the fight over repeal of the animal-protection ordinance in Rio Rancho, which will have another hearing at the Dec. 12 City Council meeting. A petition is circulating in defense of the ordinance (at www.rrklaws.org), and organizers are planning a Rio Rancho Holiday Pet Food Drive and Adoptathon to raise awareness of the issue: Dec. 8, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., at Haynes Park, Rio Rancho.