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San Juan Animal League
Pawprints
Fall 2006
Board of Directors
Betty Berry/Donna Ogilvie-Co-Presidents
Mary Winkley-Secretary
Sara Morgan-Treasurer
Shanna Baird-Bob Culpepper-Wendy Rogers-Susan Neale-Linda
McGrath-Kristen Langenfeld, Ex-Officio-Dr. Barney Oldfield,
Veterinary Advisor
A Note From the Presidents
The San Juan Animal League will again have a flyer on pet owner
responsibility and animal care enclosed in the Farmington city
utility bills beginning in October.
Ways pet owners take responsibility, according to the flyer, include
spay and neutering, obtaining regular vaccinations, providing fresh
water and nutritious food and regular exercising.
Owners are also advised to provide protection against heat in the
summer (never leave animals in a closed car), cold in winter; to
have them wear ID tags, and teach obedience rules with kindness.
Most important: Treat your pets with tender loving care!
The flyer also includes information about the Farmington Animal
Shelter, its location and hours, including the new Sunday schedules.
Shelter Doings
Farmington
A timely schedule for projects proposed to improve the Farmington
Animal Shelter has
been implemented by the Farmington Parks and Recreation Commission.
According to Jeff Bowman, FPRC director, a task force has been
established to look into animal and shelter concerns. Kerwin Gober
is the chairman.
The task force had their first meeting on Monday, September 18. They
discussed long term and short term goals for the shelter and also
are discussing the issue of a regional shelter. They are considering
the hiring of an architect to design a shelter that will incorporate
the present and future needs of the area.
There were fourteen people in attendance representing several
entities. Kerwin Gober, Chairman, Kim Carpenter, Deputy County
Manager, Jeff Bowman, Director of Farmington Parks and Recreation,
Rob Mayes, Ex. Asst. to the City Manager, Farmington, Diana Lang, SJ
College, Barbara Yarborough, Director, Farmington Animal Shelter,
Tina Roper and Bethany Jones, Aztec Animal Shelter, Tracy Fletcher,
Pam Weese, Humane Society of the 4 Corners, Wendy Rogers, Kristen
Langenfeld, San Juan Animal League, and Mary Fischer, Farmington
City Councilwoman.
During the summer, water bowls were provided in all shelter kennels,
the city finalized plans and ordered a modular unit to be placed at
the shelter for spay and neutering; placed billboards on the Red
Apple Transit buses; completed the design for a shelter banner,
created and inserted ads on KOBF and Comcast TV stations and began a
series of education classes on pet care with local schools.
Shelter Director’s Report – Barbara Yarborough
On the dates of September 12,13,14,15,and 18th, I had the wonderful
opportunity to go into all the social studies classes for the 6th,
7th, and 8th grades at Heights Jr. High to speak to them about the
importance of spaying and neutering their pets. I was delighted to
find that quite a few of them already had sterilized pets at home!
They seemed to grasp how important they will be in the future when
it comes time for them to make the decision of spaying and neutering
their pets, especially since that is not so far off for them. I took
a different Animal/Park Ranger with me on each day, so they could
meet and identify with almost half of my staff. We not only went
over the imperative need to sterilize pets, but spent some time on
animal ordinances and the services offered by Animal Control along
with tips on being a responsible pet owner. Principal Dave Willden
and teachers Ms. Whalen, Ms. Jamison, Ms. Hoskins, Ms. Steffen and
Mr. Conaway were fantastic about turning their classrooms over to us
and allowing us to reach over 600 kids. I cannot say this enough,
these kids are our future and this is the prime age to be
approaching them about being responsible adults and pet owners. We
want to offer our thanks to Ms. Hoskins for coming down to the
Shelter after our visits to the school and adopting “Buttons”, the
kitty who went with us into the classrooms.
Future plans include going to other Junior High Schools in
Farmington. This will allow us to reach over 2,500 students about
the importance of responsible pet care.
We also are doing a tour and talk to Boy Scout Troops #158 and #175
on Wednesday the 20th of September so they can earn their animal
badges in scouting.
Rabies Clinics Report – Chairman - Vicky Ramakka
These are the dates for the next clinics:
October 8 in Aztec at Koogler Middle School
November 12 in Bloomfield at Naaba Ani School
Volunteers are always welcome to assist at the clinics, or with
poster distribution prior to the clinics. If interested, contact
Volunteer Coordinator Linda McGrath at 634-0753
Tail Wags and Purrs
*The Farmington Animal Shelter is announcing its new Sunday Hours
with a special Open House on Sunday, October 1 from 12:00PM to
3:00PM. Beginning October 1st the shelter will be open every Sunday.
During the open house representatives from the San Juan Animal
League and Humane Society of the Four Corners will be sharing
information about their organizations.
Also, if you have adopted an animal from the shelter, please write
up your story or take a picture of you and your pet and send it to
us at 901 Fairgrounds Road. We will be featuring a new adoption
story every month on our monthly e-mail newsletter, and posting
adoption stories and pictures at the shelter. We hope to see you at
the Farmington Animal Shelter Open House October 1st. The Farmington
Animal Shelter is located at 1395 S. Lake Street. For more
information, please call 599-1098.
*Thank you to everyone who puts their change in those little
canisters that you see on the counters at the grocery store. We
collected $57.00 for the animals at the last count.
What is the O’Hearn fund? Chairman – Wendy Rogers
The fund was started in early 2004 to honor the memory of a young
man who loved animals. It is set up specifically for rescued animals
that are injured, abandoned, or neglected. There are one time grants
for up to $300.00 per animal.
Since April of 2006 there have been 22 animals helped with $4,288.29
being dispersed for their care.
You can see some of the wonderful rescue stories on our website at
www.sanjuananimalleague.com and also download an application form
for your use.
Pet Tip
One way to prevent large vet bills is to restrain your dogs. More
dogs visit the vet because of injuries due to lack of restraint than
for any other reason. Dogs should always be fenced in, on a leash,
or supervised.
About Us
The SJAL is a 501C3 non-profit organization. We operate solely on
donations. Every dollar that we receive is used to benefit those
four legged friends who cannot speak for themselves. If you wish to
donate or to join the League please send your donation to SJAL at PO
BOX 142, Farmington, NM 87401. Include your name, address and phone
number so we can contact you.
Thanks to Woods Insurance for sponsoring this newsletter.
Printed by San Juan Reproduction
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