espanolavalley

"Papageno" is a 6 month old male kitty who was found on the road with three bones broken in his right hind leg.  HUGE thanks to Cottonwood Veterinary Clinic who not only set the bones, but also nursed him through an illness that required a blood transfusion the week afterward.  He has been through SO much and deserves the best home ever.  He'll be in foster care for the next few weeks. If you are interested in pampering him through his 7 remaining lives, please call the Española Valley Humane Society at 505-753-8662

In July of 2010, Bella Luna was 1 year old dobie mix. Her owners came in with her crying, unable to afford vet care. They didn't leave her that week -  but one week later, one morning we found her in our drop box and we knew who she was.  We did x-rays and a neurological exam and she had a "brachial plexus avulsion" - a terrible nerve injury likely due to blunt trauma (a/k/a an automobile).  Basically she couldn't  feel anything below her elbow. After a couple of weeks in foster care, there was no improvement but we kept trying, [...]

In December of 2008, Bo-jingles was a 4 month old male rottweiler who was already 40 pounds so. He was brought in by Animal Control - found running along a road. What was obvious from yards away was that something was very wrong with his neck. Under anesthesia we clipped and cleaned and found a piece of twine just 10 inches long tied around his neck. It was buried over an inch deep into his tissue causing incredible discomfort and infection. With some surgical intervention and TLC he is fine. He was adopted by Peter and is romping around the mountains [...]

Unfortunately, it is not infrequently that animals come to us injured.  Thanks to you and your support of the "Make a Difference" fund, we are able to afford to try to fix what is fixable for many of them.  In August of 2010, this trio of critters all came in within a week of each other. "Nubbins" was a 3 month old solid black female kitten. Something happened to crunch her tail and cause the end of it to begin to die.  We amputated the last half of it so that it wouldn't get infected. "Max" was a 6 month old [...]

Baby Girl and her brother Pokemon (pictured right after he came in) came to us in November 2010 after a serious altercation with a porcupine. They had quills everywhere when their owners came to the shelter to request euthanasia. They couldn't afford treatment and it had been a few days since the ordeal. Eating and drinking is pretty tricky when your mouth is full of needles so not removing them is not a humane option. The owners and their deaf son loved the dogs, and they were relieved to know we'd treat them and try to find them a good home. [...]

In October of 2010,  Sebastian, a young kitty, was found on the side of the road with injuries to his jaw which we sutured up. The Good Samaritan, a passer-thru from Montana, couldn't stop thinking about him.  When he wasn't claimed by an owner, she arranged a pretty darned complicated 5-legged transport to get Sebastian from Española to Montana. "Boo Boo"is an 8-year-old brindle pit bull/ lab mix who was brought in by his owner with a tennis ball sized mass dangling from his belly. We removed it surgically and "Friends of the Shelter" in Los Alamos paid for the lab [...]

In July of 2010, Mabel was a 3 month old pit bull mix with a serious case of non-contagious mange that her owners didn't want to treat.  She made headlines in all the local newspapers when she and another pit bull with mange named Rocky were stolen from the shelter.  They were recovered after a reward was offered. Rocky was adopted quickly. Little Mabel developed a case of pneumonia after her big adventure and was in ICU with us for a long time as she recovered. During all of this someone asked me about the extraordinary effort EVHS went to "just [...]

In August of 2008, Indiana Jones was brought in by animal control having lost a battle with a fan belt. His face faired better than his rump, tail and well - let's just say he was partially neutered.  His injuries became an emergency situation when it became obvious that he was unable to urinate with his remaining parts.  We did a reconstruction of the area (what's known as a perineal urethrostomy) and he recovered totally.  He was soon adopted and now  Dr. Jones says his high adventure days are over. Sunshine was about 10 months old or so and she had [...]

Within hours of his arrival, our shelter staff picked this dog as our next "Make a Difference" animal. Sweet, gentle and eager to please, he captured our hearts.  He had an old injury that made his front leg totally useless and a source of infection. He needed an amputation.  Then there was the news that he was also heartworm positive.  With the support of MAD donors (including Mrs. Potter's entire 4th grade class from Rio Grande School) and a foster home where he recovered, we were able to do all that was necessary to make him "adoptable."  He's now "Roo", runs [...]

In March of 2008, Wizard - a handsome siamese male - came to us in a trap.  We were very sad when he tested Feline Leukemia (FeLV) positive which made him "unadoptable". The only suitable home for him would be one in which he was the only cat or in a home with another leukemia positive cat. FeLV is a virus. It is contagious to other cats. About 1/3 of the cats with the virus die from it. The rest either test negative down the road or remain contagious their whole lives, but never actually succumb to it. Felines and Friends [...]

Meryl was found on the side of the highway and picked up by Animal Control. The officer carried her in to EVHS and told us she couldn't walk.We immediately tried to relieve her pain with medications. On examination, it was obvious something was broken, but in spite of her pain she was very gentle. She'd whimper loudly every once in a while as she changed positions in her cage, but when you stroked her or talked to her she wagged her tail with vigor. We did our best to address the pain and hoped someone would come to claim her, but [...]

Cassidy came to us with a history of having fallen from a tree. Maybe she was chasing a squirrel. Or maybe she was running from something.In any case, the fall left her with a limp in her left hind leg that has not changed for two weeks now. We were able to do some x-rays thanks to Arroyo Seco Animal Hospital and no obvious fracture was found. There could be permanent ligament or nerve damage which means she's a hop-along kind of girl with no more tree-climbing in her future. Cassidy gets around great and is in no pain, but she [...]

Meet Bitsy and Bertie. Bitsy is about 2 1/2 months old and a little purring ragdoll when held. Bertie (also quite the love-bucket) is about 1 year old and has been at the shelter over 6 months now. She has patiently waited in a cage for someone special to take notice. Together they are my poster kids for one of the shelter's toughest and most heartbreaking issues - ringworm. These kitties are otherwise completely healthy,chasing toys, beautiful/loving personalities.... but for one spot or two on their skin that signals us to test for ringworm - a fungal spore that can be [...]

In December of 2007, after a couple of months with the shelter, I was inspired to create a program to highlight animals in need of extra medical care.  It was something I was sure the people of my community and the fans of Española Valley Humane Society really wanted us to do.... try our very best to give every animal a chance. We tossed out different names and "Make A Difference" became the one that stuck. This was part of the first email I sent: "Our kennels and cages are FULL of animals, each special,each deserving of a home. There are [...]