Animal Shelter receives a boost

The Socorro County Animal Shelter is among the 25 local governments across the state to receive a much-needed boost. The help has come in the form of a $18,631 state grant that will help repair aging infrastructure and support animal welfare operations.

Shelter Director Lupe Tarango said the funding represents the first phase of a multi-year state Animal Welfare Grant program.

“The grant itself is for infrastructure improvement,” Tarango said. “We’re going to use it to fix a couple of the roofs at the shelter.”

According to Tarango, two of the shelter’s buildings are in urgent need of repair — the office building and the puppy room.

“The winds up on the llano have completely destroyed one of the roofs, and there’s been leaking in one of the offices,” he said. “That’s going to assist us with fixing that so my staff can continue to work on transports, animal intakes, and everything else they do.”

The puppy room, the oldest structure on the property, has also seen significant wear and tear over the years.

“We have a couple of spots that are leaking over a few of the puppy kennels,” Tarango said. “We’re trying to get that corrected so we can continue to use the space for more of the little puppies in there.”

This first phase is just the beginning of a long-term state investment in local animal welfare. Tarango said the second phase of the grant program — expected to become available in fiscal year 2027 — will focus on Animal Control Officer (ACO) funding, providing overtime pay for officers to handle extra duties such as cat tracking and community assistance calls.

A third phase, projected for fiscal year 2028, will be aimed at upgrading equipment, traps, and vehicles to improve shelter operations and animal rescue capabilities, according to Tarango.

While the building repairs are a top priority, Tarango said he is equally proud of the shelter’s progress this year in placing animals in new homes or partner facilities.

“The animal shelter has done an amazing job with transporting animals out,” he said.

Just this week, the shelter participated in a major transport effort to Belen with Dog Is My Co-Pilot, a nonprofit that flies rescue animals to no-kill shelters across the country.

“The city contributed with 18 cats and 17 dogs that were flown to Kanab, Utah,” Tarango said.

He added the shelter has been able to rehome or transfer roughly 80 percent of the animals it takes in — an impressive achievement for a small, rural facility. “Different agencies assist us with foster and adoption,” he said, “and that helps ensure these animals get a second chance.”

With the first phase of state funding soon to arrive, Tarango said he’s optimistic about the improvements ahead. “These repairs will make a big difference for our staff and for the animals we care for every day.”