Humane Society, Construction Tech Form Partnership

For Release - April 10, 2009

On a chilly morning in February at the Gallup McKinley Humane Society, students in Rick Krouth’s Interior Finishing class from UNM-Gallup were on a mission. Wearing hardhats, but minus customary hammers and drills, they listened as Cosy Balok, director of the Humane Society, ticked off a list of the organization’s considerable needs. Krouth and fellow Construction Tech instructor Chris Chavez made notes, and the students, prompted by a photographer, took up some of the numerous kittens and puppies waiting for adoption at the facility and posed for pictures they hope will promote their mission in the local community.

That mission is one that is now well under way, with the construction of a prep room in the Humane Society building, and plans for more projects that will help provide better care for the 5000 homeless cats and dogs that come through its doors every year.

“We take in a lot more animals than other facilities, because we’re surrounded by the reservation,” said Balok. It’s a familiar story: too many abandoned dogs and cats, and too little spaying and neutering, despite the availability of low-cost and no-cost veterinary services in the area.

The Humane Society in Gallup, founded about 20 years ago, is housed in the Animal Control Building on Hwy. 491. Volunteer veterinarians such as Clinton Balok, retired from Cedar Animal Medical Center, and others spay and neuter, give shots, and treat a variety of health problems that trouble neglected animals, such as mange, ringworm and viruses. Volunteers also care for the animals – walking the dogs, cleaning the cages, and feeding and watering.

The Humane Society holds the animals for two weeks in an attempt to find homes for them, rather than allow them to be euthanized. Operating expenses come through various grants and the annual Bow-Wow/Meow fund-raiser. There isn’t a lot left over for the improvements that Balok envisions to make the animals more comfortable during their stay.

The new partnership between the Humane Society and UNM-Gallup’s Construction Tech program may well be a way to make those extras possible. It is the brainchild of Interim Executive Director Barry Cooney, an animal lover who, upon learning about the overpopulation problem on the reservation, looked for a way to get the campus involved by creating a student project. Cooney hopes to donate the students’ labor so that not only will the animals be helped, but the students will get valuable hands-on experience. In turn, he’s hoping the local community will support the college’s efforts by donating materials.

“This project, which allows our Construction Technology students to lend a hand in helping much-needed specialized areas within the Humane Society building, is a real win-win for both the Gallup community and UNM-G’s students,” Cooney said.

“We’re looking at how we can do anything and everything they want,” Krouth said. “Besides the surgery prep area, we’re looking at building cabinetry, creating a cat containment area, extending some dog runs, even tightening up the windows and doors for better energy efficiency.”

Krouth described the students in his class as “very excited” about the current project, and hopeful that a source for the materials for this and future projects will be found.

To that end, the college will be making appeals to merchants, individuals and organizations for help underwriting the project. Cooney hopes the effort will be an ongoing one – as is the Construction Tech Department’s association with Habitat for Humanity.

Already, the community has been responding. Linda and Charlie Byrd of Clifton Electric donated the electrical work for the new prep room. Cooney and all involved hope other members of the community will respond in kind.

“I was struck by the overwhelmingly positive response our students had to this project when they visited the Humane Society and had the opportunity to spend time with the animals,” Cooney said. “I urge all animal lovers to support this incredibly worthwhile project.”

Captions:

Alliaha Barney, Construction Tech student, and friend.

Nate Davis, Construction Tech student, with one of the puppies from the Humane Society.