On Saturday morning a group of staff from Doña Ana County Animal Control and Barkhouse, a non-profit animal rescue group, and some dedicated volunteers braved the cold weather to transport 73 homeless animals to the Las Cruces International Airport for their “freedom flight” to Portland, Oregon.
The animals were being housed in the Doña Ana County Court Hold facility, using the vacant kennels as temporary housing after COVID-19 broke out at the Animal Services Center of Mesilla Valley and their operations and adoptions came to a halt. Barkhouse wanted to help and the partnership between Doña Ana County and Barkhouse began. Barkhouse is an animal advocacy group that does rescue by relocation. It does not adopt out animals, but through its network of animal shelters and organizations, it transports healthy animals to areas of the country where they can be adopted or fostered in private homes.
Dr. Lauren Short worked with Barkhouse to make sure that every dog transported was healthy and able to travel. South Aero, a charter flight service out of Albuquerque, provided the cargo plane and pilots for the journey.
“It is a win-win for everyone, especially the animals,” said Jeanne Quintero, interim director of Doña Ana County Animal Control and Codes. “And these dogs are truly wanted. We have been told that people line up at night to submit applications for our dogs. Within 48 hours of this flight, 11 dogs were adopted by our Oregon friends,” she said. “And, Charlie Brown was right: happiness is a warm puppy.”
Information from Doña Ana County