ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – The Albuquerque Animal Welfare Department will soon be open seven days a week. The hope is that the expanded hours will help boost adoptions and support for the overpopulated shelter.
“This unprecedented expansion of days of service should help reduce the number of pets in our shelters while providing loving homes for our most vulnerable pets,” Carolyn Ortega, the director of the Animal Welfare Department, said in a press release. “There has never been a better time or better selection of incredible pets ready for new homes, and we know the people of Albuquerque will rise to this challenge.”
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The shelter’s expanded operating days start Monday, July 15. They will be open each day of the week, including weekends, from 9:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Viewing hours for pets will be from 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. each day, the city says.
Through the month of July, the shelter will offer free microchips and pet tags to help keep track of pets that get lost. They also offer year-round free microchip updates for pet owners who need to change contact info on their pet’s microchip.
Currently, city pet shelters are overfilled, trying to care for more than 900 pets in-house and hundreds more within the foster program. So, the city asks people who find stray animals to try to contact the animal’s owner before turning the pet over to the shelter.
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If you find a lost pet, you can take it to get scanned for a microchip, which could help locate the pet’s owner. Veterinary clinics, police fire stations, the city’s shelters, and other sites have scanners. You can find a list of locations at this link. Feral cats can be reported to Street Cat Hub at (505) 247-9357.
If you have lost a pet, you can visit sites like petfinder, Pawboost, or 24PetConnect. Albuquerque animal shelters are currently waiving the lost pet return fee, but all animals must be sterilized before released, the city says.
The city is looking for people to adopt pets as well as foster pets. To see available pets, you can visit this link. To sign up as a pet foster parent, you can email: AWDFoster@cabq.gov.