Viva New Mexico Rural Animal Rescue
We are a 501(c)3 nonprofit animal rescue specializing in rescuing homeless pets from the rural shelters of New Mexico.
Our mission is to reduce the euthanasia rates in rural shelters by responsibly rehoming pets, promoting spay and neuter, educating the public about spay, neuter, and responsible pet ownership, and working closely with rural shelters in our state to find viable rescue options in and out of state.
Striving to save animals at risk for euthanasia in rural New Mexico shelters.
Viva New Mexico Rural Animal Rescue is a small but ever growing network of volunteers that are dedicated to saving animals from rural New Mexico shelters. We believe that every pet deserves a second or third chance at a life with a family. We want the public to know the importance of having your pets spayed or neutered as hundreds of KITTENS AND PUPPIES, and thousands of dogs and cats are euthanized in shelters every year. We promote spay and neuter initiatives, education, and responsible pet ownership.
We know the shelters are limited in kennel space, so we help to assist with other rescues who sponsor shelter pets in and out of state by pulling and temporary foster until transport can be arranged to these rescues. This opens kennel space so that fewer animals are euthanized and prevents the death of animals who have rescues wanting to help.
11/15/2021
It’s hard to believe, but our holiday wreath fundraiser is LIVE! There are 40 days til Christmas!
For those who are new, this fundraiser is a favorite! You get a wonderful, handmade, fresh and lovely wreath shipped directly to your home on the date you choose. They also make centerpieces, garland, door swag, and fragrant balsam sachets!
Shop at the 🔗 in our Bio Until November 30th!
11/11/2021
“Never was so much owed by so many to so few.” — Winston Churchill
Thank you, Veterans. 🇺🇸
#veteransday #veteransday2021
11/08/2021
The last 18 months have been… hard. For us, for the Viva family, for the dogs, for shelters… for EVERYONE.
The pandemic stole our ability to fundraise in nearly all of our normal ways. Event after event, canceled.
We have tried to be creative. We have stayed up late, brainstorming. A lot of our usual fundraising partners are in no position to help the dogs right now because the pandemic has crushed them too. Some of them have sadly gone out of business as well.
We have lost fosters and volunteers to the pandemic. We are smaller than ever before. Still here, trying to save lives where we can.
May 2022 will be our 10 year anniversary, and we are unsure if we will still exist then. Money just doesn’t grow on trees, and rescue costs money.
We have Bambi, Paige, Koda, and Buddy, available for adoption. Lobo is looking for a forever foster to live out his days heartworm free (finally). Zena is waiting to go to Daisy Farm Sanctuary where she will be forever safe. All of these dogs are at The Doggie Den currently, because we have no available foster homes for them. This costs $.
We know this is a lot to ask. We know. We hate asking. We have applied for grants, we have tried to make other fundraisers happen, we have prayed… but here we are. Begging you to help us survive this.
We need this $ to survive. We can’t rescue anyone new right now, this is for the care of our current pups until we find the perfect home for each of them.
We are fatigued. We are depressed, and feeling hopeless. The dogs of New Mexico’s rural shelters need us, but will we be able to stay open to help them? We just don’t know. COVID has taken much from us, we desperately don’t want it to take our ability to save lives too.
Please, help if you can. $1 matters. If you can’t help, we understand. Please share. Invite your friends and family to help. We have witnessed miracles at the hands of the Viva family before, and we are in desperate need of one now.
10/07/2021
WANTED:
Humans who are seeking the love of a big dog. Not quite extra large, but larger than average!
These humans around here guess that I’m a Great Pyrenees mix of some sort, because that’s my size & I have some guardian dog tendencies.
Things you should know:
✅ I am big, but gentle.
✅ I don’t love other dogs. Can I have a forever home where I can just be your one and only?
✅ I’m kind of naughty. I know how to climb chainlink. I see no issue here, but my rescue peeps say I need a hope with block walls or wood fencing so I can’t climb them. *sigh*
✅I haven’t met a kitty, but there’s a higher than average chance I’m not good with them, so no kitties. It’s best for everyone!
My name is Buddy, and I am super sweet. I learned all the good stuff in the PAWS program, and I am 100% ready to come love you with all of my heart. If you think we’re a perfect match, please fill out an adoption application here: www.viva-nm.org My adoption fee is $250 and that includes all the vet care and training I got in the PAWS program.
If I’m not The One for you, please SHARE me! Maybe one of your friends will fall in love?
I'm also looking for a foster home until my forever family finds me! Apply to foster me at www.viva-nm.org ❤️
09/21/2021
LOST IN LOS LUNAS! PLEASE SHARE! Reward if found!
#reward #lostdog #lostdogsnewmexico #LostDogsNM
09/08/2021
Sometimes, we’re contacted about a pup in a shelter and we just know that the dog needs rescue in order to have a good outcome.
Meet Zena. She’s been at the shelter since July, and this is at *least* the second time she has been surrendered there. She’s just over a year and a half old.
How can this be? She looks so sweet! According to her history given at each surrender, Zena bites. She has not caused serious injury, but she has bitten other dogs, adults, and children.
Do we think she is just an aggressive dog? No. What we think is she is a deaf dog, who likely doesn’t see well (don’t her eyes look painful?), whom no one took the time to teach about the world. Impaired dogs often find the world scary, and can be easily startled.
Zena presents as a fearful, shy dog. Unfortunately, we cannot adopt out a dog with her bite history, so we scrambled to find her a safe place.
Enter the kind folks at @Daisy Farm Sanctuary. They don’t have room for her at this precise moment, but they soon will. She will be safe there, she will be loved, and she will have her medical needs seen to for the rest of her days.
Our fab volunteer Glenda picked miss Zena up yesterday, to take her to boarding. The staff at boarding is prepared for her, and will make sure to keep her and themselves safe while she stays there. She is very scared, but has not exhibited any desire to do anything but hide so far.
We need to keep Zena safe until Daisy Farm is ready for her. She deserves to know what life is like without painful eyes, without being afraid… she deserves to know safety and love.
Can you help us? We don’t have an exact time that Daisy Farm will be ready as of yet. Until then, Zena will be in boarding, which costs $ daily.
The price is worth it for her to be safe. In addition to the cost of boarding, we need to get this little lady seen by the folks at Eyecare for Animals. We need to see what is going on with her eyes, and learn what she needs to be comfortable.
Please help, if you can. Zena needed us and we just couldn’t say no. Things fell into place to allow her to be safe, and we couldn’t leave her to an unknown future.
07/24/2021
2020 was not an awesome year for me. I found myself at the shelter, then I got adopted. Then, I got returned because I was too active.
Sorry I needed more than sitting in a backyard day in and day out.
Getting returned to the shelter was actually lucky for me, because that lead to me being chosen for the PAWS program!
I went and learned all about being a good girl, and made lots of friends. I love other dogs and humans, and I would really like a family to love.
Are you looking for an adventure buddy? I’m about 3, so I have lots of years to have fun with you. I’m obedience and house trained, plus I have a beautiful smile!
What do you say? Could we be a perfect match? I promise to love you forever! Fill out an adoption application here: www.viva-nm.org My adoption fee is $250 which goes toward all my vet care I received and the training I got in the PAWS program.
Tell them you want to meet Bambi! I’m waiting in boarding for someone to love. If you want to help cover a little of that cost, you can donate through this post!
07/22/2021
WANTED:
Humans who are seeking the love of a big dog. Not quite extra large, but larger than average!
These humans around here guess that I’m a Great Pyrenees mix of some sort, because that’s my size & I have some guardian dog tendencies.
Things you should know:
✅ I am big, but gentle.
✅ I don’t love other dogs. Can I have a forever home where I can just be your one and only?
✅ I’m kind of naughty. I know how to climb chainlink. I see no issue here, but my rescue peeps say I need a hope with block walls or wood fencing so I can’t climb them. *sigh*
✅I haven’t met a kitty, but there’s a higher than average chance I’m not good with them, so no kitties. It’s best for everyone!
My name is Buddy, and I am super sweet. I learned all the good stuff in the PAWS program, and I am 100% ready to come love you with all of my heart. If you think we’re a perfect match, please fill out an adoption application here: www.viva-nm.org My adoption fee is $250 and that includes all the vet care and training I got in the PAWS program.
If I’m not The One for you, please SHARE me! Maybe one of your friends will fall in love?
05/28/2021
I’m not really sure why, but I’m still here looking for my forever home.
I mean, who *doesn’t* want an adorable big eared girl with impeccable manners and lots if love?
I’m not perfect, but is anyone? So I don’t like other girl dogs, and I have prey drive so a home with little dogs or kitties isn’t an option for me. So what?
I’m still a good girl. I’m still smart and funny, and I have a great personality. I just want to make you happy, and I love adventures. I can’t believe there isn’t one person in Albuquerque with a nice boy fog or no dogs, looking for a girl like me!
I’ve had meet and greets and these people always say how wonderful I am... and then they disappear never to be heard from again. I don’t understand.
If you’re looking for an adventure dog who’s cool with the boys, or alone please fill out the adoption application at the link in bio. My adoption fee is $250 and I’m already vetted and obedience trained because I graduated from the PAWS program.
If you aren’t looking for a girl like me, can you please share? I want to go home!
Xoxo,
Ava
05/18/2021
If you’re having a bad day, I’ll sing to you and you can decide what’s worse.
I’m Kiki and I’m a tiny Husky, or maybe a Klee Kai mix. Either way, I like to talk.
I love other dogs, but cats not so much. I love humans too.
I came into the shelter as a stray, super underweight, and once I got rescued they discovered I had a blockage. I had tried to eat things I shouldn’t, so that I wouldn’t be hungry anymore.
I’m all better now, and I learned all the good girl things from the PAWS program too! I’m looking for the kind of home that wants a family member, not someone who want me to live in the back yard. My perfect home would have a pup to be my best friend (or you can adopt Paige and her cool eyepatch with me, she’s looking too!) and humans who want to do things together!
Are you looking for a little loud mouth to love? Fill out an adoption application at the link in bio. My adoption fee is $250, which goes towards all the vet care and training I received in the program.
Apply to meet me and tell them it’s for Kiki! ❤️
05/15/2021
2020 was not an awesome year for me. I found myself at the shelter, then I got adopted. Then, I got returned because I was too active.
Sorry I needed more than sitting in a backyard day in and day out.
Getting returned to the shelter was actually lucky for me, because that lead to me being chosen for the PAWS program!
I went and learned all about being a good girl, and made lots of friends. I love other dogs and humans, and I would really like a family to love.
Are you looking for an adventure buddy? I’m about 3, so I have lots of years to have fun with you. I’m obedience and house trained, plus I have a beautiful smile!
What do you say? Could we be a perfect match? I promise to love you forever! Fill out an adoption application at the link in bio! My adoption fee is $250 which goes toward all my vet care I received and the training I got in the PAWS program.
Tell them you want to meet Bambi! I’m waiting ❤️ #rescued #rescuedismyfavoritebreed #rescuedog #albuquerque #newmexico
04/27/2021
Miss Iris came to us after being dumped with her whole family in a small shelter’s overnight kennels.
We were able to help half of the family, and the other half went to rescue in Colorado. They’re all living their best lives now.
Iris was able to come to Albuquerque thanks to her amazing foster family (thank you Meghann and Matt!!!). We are *always* in need of more foster families- if you’d like to help us save lives, please visit www.viva-nm.org and fill out a Foster application!
Miss Iris found her forever family, and we think it’s safe to say it was basically love at first sight. Thank you for loving this girl as much as we all do, and welcome home Iris! ❤️❤️❤️