Paw prints: Clovis buys new building for animal shelter

The Clovis animal shelter reached its 47th birthday this month, housing and saving nearly 40 animals a day since the 1970s. Since its opening, that has been accomplished with fewer than 3,000 square feet of space.

High Plains Humane Society President Linda Cross said the shelter has long been too small for the growing stray population in Clovis. The city bought a new building in July.

"We want to give the shelter a new face," Cross said.

The 30,000 square feet will provide veterinarian services including a surgical center and exam rooms, separate dog and cat spaces, an intake quarantine area and a lobby that will be managed by High Plains Society. Cross said ideally the new shelter will be a primary location for not only adoption but also providing a low-cost spay/neuter clinic for the community.

Cross said while establishing the new shelter at 516 Ash and 517 Hickory streets will be a five-year project, she expects they begin operating at the location sooner rather than later. She said they are currently in the gutting phase of the project.

"I'm excited with just the space and to be able to do things right. I want to make an adoption center where people have the space and time to interact with pets they are thinking about adopting," Cross said.

She said the new location will give the shelter an opportunity to let the animals have more open space to play and go on walks, rather than being stuck in their kennels. High Plains aims to make this a location that not only serves to protect the stray population but also to provide for community pets as well.

"One of our most important goals is to help people take care of their animals and educate them, so that things can continue to get better and better," Cross said.

The city had purchased the facility for $215,000 from Zia Holdings Corporation/Eastern New Mexico Rehabilitation, leaving $200,000 in designated cash to remodel the building, said Cross. She said the city and High Plains are still negotiating on forming another budget to hire staff for the facility, but she said things are starting to look up for the Clovis animal community.

Cross said High Plains has been working with the city for many years and their mission has been to tackle the stray population within the local area. She said since COVID it has been difficult to keep up with how much the animals have been breeding, but with the new shelter there is hope they can tackle the problem head on.

Madison Willis writes about animals for The Eastern New Mexico News. To suggest a story or nominate a "Pet of the week," contact her at: [email protected]