Action Program for Animals settling into new home

Dogs, cats, puppies, kittens, staff and volunteers are settling into Action Programs for Animals (APA) of Las Cruces’ new home.

Staff and volunteers completed the adoption center’s move from the old location on Picacho Avenue to a building APA owns at 537 N. Solano Drive in mid-November, said ACA Executive Director Michel Meunier.

“The building purchase was made possible from a very generous estate left to us by a former dog adopter, but being an old building, we had a lot of work to do getting it ready,” Meunier said. “We had to redo the entire large dog room's flooring and dog kennels. We had to update the plumbing and electricity and HVAC systems, etc.”

There is still more work to do, Meunier said, and community support is welcome.

“Now we are still needing sponsors for some of the other larger areas of need,” she said, including replacing cages in APA’s cat rooms. Sponsors are honored with their names on the enclosures.

Meunier said community members also are invited to come to APA and assist with projects like building more climbing walls in APA’s two outdoor “catios.”

“Having a building also means needing staff to care for the animals 24/7,” Meunier said. “Most of our staff are animal caregivers, besides myself and our location manager.”

APA does “open” adoptions at its new center, Meunier said, with post-adoption follow ups and support for new pet owners. This “helps us place animals faster,” she said, so APA can continue to rescue at-risk animals pulled from the Animal Services Center of the Mesilla Valley. It also ensures that APA animals are in good homes.

“When adopters have any issues, our dog trainer or cat behavior expert calls and works with adopters to resolve issues,” Meunier said. “If that fails, or if anyone can't take care of our animals any longer, we take all our animals back – even years later.” 
APA also runs the local prison dog training program, the pet-food bank and low-cost vaccination/microchip clinics, and conducts dog-training classes, she said. Some of these services are on temporary hold because of state public health orders.

The nonprofit APA “is a progressive animal welfare organization seeking to improve the quality of life for companion animals in Doña Ana County and greatly reduce the number of unwanted animals impounded and euthanized at the municipal shelter,” according to the APA website.

APA hours are 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday, and by appointment. The APA food bank is open 2-4 p.m. Sunday.

APA’s Second Chance Thrift Store (voted Mesilla Valley’s best thrift store in the 2021 Bulletin’s Best) is located at 2475 N. Main St. and is open 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Saturday. Call 575-888-4882.

Contact APA at 575-644-0505 (information line), 575-571-4654 (education and adoption center) and

mail@apalascruces.org. Visit apalascruces.org.