GRANTS, N.M. – Sheri Baisden said in an interview that loving animals comes first when working for the Animal Care Center. Next is being a hard worker. Employees must wash dishes, do laundry, sweep, mop, and scoop poop out of the play yard. They must also handle the many service calls that come in. Dog bites, accidents, pet protective custody for people in the hospital, paperwork, and court days for citations written are all part of their duties in the shelter. Their newest officer is working towards getting a license to euthanize animals that come in with injuries that can’t be treated.
Volunteers mostly handle walking dogs, brushing their hair, and bathing them, but can also assist the staff with other tasks. Depending on how much staff is available, and what the volunteers are willing to do are the deciding factors for the day. The shelter is almost always operating at maximum capacity. Several animal rescue transports come throughout the month to help take in the excess animals.
Several of the animals are in other states. Rez-Dawg Rescue takes in the most animals at the beginning of each month. The rescues will decide which animals they will take based on their specialties and the animal’s ability to get along with others. This is documented ahead of time by the Animal Care Center staff through pictures and videos that the rescues review.
Many of the excess animals that end up at the shelter are a result of owners not getting their pets spayed or neutered. For people that live in the Grants city limits, there is a $25-off coupon that can be obtained through the shelter if you set up an appointment for the operation.
Baisden once again urges people to be responsible for their pets by spaying and neutering them to keep the stray population down and asks anyone interested in helping out to come and walk dogs. Every bit helps, she said.
Baisden will retire from the Animal Care Center at the end of October. December 30 would have been her nineteenth year working for the Animal Car Center.
Editor’s Note: The Cibola Citizen thanks Sheri Baisden for her years of service to the Cibola Community and all of the pets across the county.