Support. Education. Spay/Neuter.

Our mission is to provide unwavering support for the animals of San Miguel County, New Mexico, in a manner that best serves their needs and aligns with our available funding. Our focus is delivering low-cost spay/neuter services, education, and vital support. Spanning over 4700 square miles, San Miguel County faces significant challenges in animal overpopulation and welfare. The Las Vegas, New Mexico animal shelter takes in one animal in the shelter for every 21 people in the county annually. With a poverty rate of 21.4% and a median household income of $36,492, many residents wish to provide for their pets, but are financially challenged to do so. Animals in San Miguel County are often treated as disposable, neglected, and undervalued. The sole animal shelter in the county is consistently inundated and understaffed. As a registered 501c3 non-profit with a dedicated volunteer board, FSMCA is committed to collaborating with the shelter to host impactful spay/neuter events and support the shelter with critical supplies. Join us in making a tangible difference in the lives of these vulnerable animals.

WE ARE NOT AN ANIMAL RESCUE. WE CANNOT TAKE HOMELESS PETS.

Upcoming Events

The 2nd Annual Howl-oween Pet Festival

Carnegie Park, Las Vegas, New Mexico

October 19, 2024 from noon until 4 pm

Costume contest at 2 pm. Must be present to win and strut your stuff with your dog on our runway
Agility course
Photo/ Mug shot booth
Pet supply sale
Ask a trainer / Dog training info
AND MORE!
Sorry cats, only friendly dogs may attend.

For everyone’s safety, we request to please keep your dog on a leash and a safe distance from other dogs.

Past Events

FSMCA collaborated with AWC, Animal Advocates, and Highlands University to have a free showing of the film “The Deadly Link.” on April 5, 2024. This film highlights the importance of recognizing the link between human and animal abuse.

Support for San Miguel County Animals

Supporting animals may come in many forms.

Providing winter straw for outdoor dogs and cats.
Providing low cost spay/neuter clinics
Providing microchip and vaccination clinics
Basic education about pet ownership
Network with out of state resources
Working with the Las Vegas Shelter to know what is needed in the community
Some items we have purchased for the Las Vegas Animal Care Center are: security cameras and monitoring, kitten milk replacer, puppy milk replacer, medications for animals, emergency vet care, gas for transporting animals, cat and dog food, safety supplies for shelter employees such as bite gloves, and more.

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Education about responsible pet ownership will help reduce the amount of unwanted pets through:

Educating about spay/neuter to prevent unwanted litters
Teaching the basic needs of pet health
Teaching basic pet care and training

This will improve quality of life for the animals.

Education for Pet Owners

Learn About Pet Care

A much needed service in San Miguel County is low cost spay/neuter for dogs and cats. This will reduce the number of unwanted pets, and therefore the number of animals abandoned, like the puppies in the photo. FSCMA will hold fundraisers and sponsor spay/neuter clinics in San Miguel County. Please donate below to allow us to provide more services like these.

Below are our spay/neuter events we have completed. We hope to do more with your help!

2023 event with Pecos PAWS

2024 Event with Espanola Humane

Request Spay Neuter Here

Spay/Neuter Clinics

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Spay/Neuter Request

Where does the money go?

Here are some examples of how FSMCA will use its donations.

One-time organizational expenses for filing for 501c3 that we had to pay this year such as state and IRS fees to register our non-profit -approximately $750. Business licenses are $35 each.. Becoming a 501c3 allows us to apply for grants and funding that otherwise would not be available to us.
Websites are needed to promote our organization and collect donations - $327/yr
Spay or neuter a dog or cat at special events - $100-$200 per animal
Promotional and educational printed information - This has luckily become much more affordable $90 for classroom of 30 students.
Medical care for a stray animal - Dependent on needs - $100 to several thousand dollars
Straw for outdoor animals - $8 a bale
Insurance for the directors - $770 a year. Insurance per event about $250
As we grow we may need to pay a bookkeeper, attorney fees, and an accountant.

The Fearful Feral Dog Workshop is taught at the Las Vegas Animal Care Center to educate trainers and dog rescuers about rehabilitation for fearful and feral dogs. This is a popular event and attracts people from around the United States to learn about the dogs of San Miguel County. Sadly, we have this workshop in San Miguel County due to the large numbers of fearful and feral dogs here. The good news is that the dogs in the workshop go on to become happy healthy pets after further work at the Las Vegas Animal Care Center. This is a major fundraising event for FSMCA. Thank you to Nelson Hodges, Canine Human Relationship Institute, for his generous donation of his time and knowledge.

Who we are

The FSMCA is currently made up of five volunteer directors.

Julie Hart is the President FSMCA. She has been active in dog rescue, training, and rehabilitation for since 2009. She has also been training dogs professionally since 2014, plus served on the Board of an international dog training organization. Julie became involved with the animals from San Miguel County during a large hoarding case in 2019. This year Julie has organized the 4th Fearful Feral Dog Workshop at the Las Vegas shelter in April taught by Nelson Hodges. As Julie has worked with the animals of San Miguel County, she has seen a great need for resources in the community. Julie has adopted two dogs from Las Vegas shelter.

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Heather Sandoval is the Vice President of FSMCA. She retired as a civil engineer, then started working at the Las Vegas Shelter in June, 2020. While working at the shelter she showed immense care for the animals. Even in extremely stressful and hectic situations, Heather treated the animals with care and patience. From her work at the shelter, Heather learned of the plight of San Miguel County animals’ and acquired knowledge of how the animals may be served. Heather is now working as an engineer again, but wants to stay involved with animal welfare in San Miguel County. Heather has since adopted three dogs from the Las Vegas shelter - all white huskies

Linda Montano, Secretary & Juan Montano, Director. Juan retired from the Las Vegas, NM Police Department as Chief of Police and now works at West Las Vegas High School. He is a wrestling coach and also runs a mentoring program for at risk youth. Linda is a Pharmacy Technician with the Department of Health. Linda and Juan have a soft spot for animals and have fostered and adopted many animals in need. Growing up in Las Vegas, NM gives Juan and Linda some insight into how the culture has shaped the way animals have been seen in the past. Looking forward, they would like to help educate the community on vaccinations, animal healthcare, spay and neutering and many other things will help community’s animal population.

Darin Romero is a lifelong resident of Las Vegas, NM and San Miguel County. He is currently the Sergeant of the San Miguel County Sheriff's Office. Prior to becoming a law enforcement officer he received his B.A. in Political Science and B.A. in Religious Studies from UNM. Darin has been involved in fostering and rescuing both dogs and cats from various welfare and rescue groups over the past ten years. He hopes to further benefit the animal community of San Miguel County.

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