The Grants Animal Care Center recently hired a new Director of Operations named Diane Rowe. Rowe has been involved with the animal care center for almost five years and was just hired as the Director of Operations on April 24.
Rowe previously was a volunteer at the care center, she stated, “I would’ve applied for the position earlier, but I was running for state Representative and I thought it wouldn’t be fair.” Rowe spoke about her reasoning behind wanting to be the Director of the Animal Care Center, “The last almost three years it's been a lot. We’re short-handed, we have at least triple our capacity right now.”
When asked about what she loves about the care center Rowe stated, “I love the animals. I’ve always been an animal person.” She also spoke about her favorite part of being the director, “I love being able to socialize the animals, and being handson.” She said that she knows all the names of the animals except for about 6 of the new arrivals, “because it’s important.”
Currently at the shelter there are about 170 animals in the shelter. They have 45 kennels for animals, in the cat room there are six kennels and a socialization room. In each kennel there are six or seven cats which are a mother cat and kittens. In the dog room there are two adult dogs, for puppies there are two to four, but in the smaller kennels there are no more than 2. Some of the dogs need to be separate from other dogs as well.
Rowe spoke about her biggest stressors, “Animals should be a lifelong commitment… It is a responsibility. We are trying to educate as we go… We have paperwork about why you need to neuter or spay, why they need their shots, why they shouldn’t be on chains. We try to educate, if we have repeat offenders then we will cite them.” They are trying to build back the relationship they have with the community. Rowe stated, “My biggest stresser is people not understanding that this is a family member.”
Rowe spoke about the animals that come through the care center, “When an animal comes through here whether it is ours or not, when they come to reclaim it, it has to be spayed or neutered, it’s microchipped and registered to the owner… We want people to get their animals back.” Rowe also spoke about how stressful it is for animals, “We are strangers, there’s lots of noise everyday, all day, and they are in a box… When you bring an animal here, they go into depression a lot of the time.”
The care center needs fosters who can keep the animals safe, for dogs it is required for them to have a fence. The cost for adoption is $50 across the board, which includes a spay or neuter, a microchip, and a rabies shot. Rowe stated, “If your animal is missing, call us please. We want you to get your baby back… We are looking for volunteers and fosters. We are looking for dog walkers, anybody who can come and spend 30 minutes… anything is better than nothing.”
Rowe wants the community to know, “We are open, our gates are open. We welcome the public and the community to check us out. We would love for people to come in and see and look at the animals. They would be surprised at what’s here. We want to be a part of the community, we want to be a service.”
The Animal Care Center has a pet of the week on the front page of the newspaper. They have an event coming up with Jenny’s Grooming on July 7, which is a nail-a-thon, all the proceeds that come in from people getting their nails done, will be donated to the care center to buy enrichment products for the animals. There will also be an adopt-a-thon on July 14 at Jenny’s Grooming.
If anyone is interested in volunteering they can sign up at the Grants Animal Care Center located at 722 Redondo Rd, Grants, NM 87020. The Animal Care Center is open from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. You can also call the Care Center at 505-2854012.