The need for a new regional animal shelter in San Juan County is crucial.

While the severe downturn in the local economy has put construction of a new shelter on hold, Farmington City manager Rob Mayes says it is still an identified priority and will be considered again in the new budget year.

And why is the need for a new animal shelter so vital?

The present Farmington Animal Shelter, landlocked between the city's Bluffview Power Plant and Waste Water Treatment Plant, is more than 30 years old. There is no room for expansion, which means that pets taken to the shelter have little chance for survival.

In 2008, there were 8,600 animals from the city, county and Navajo Reservation admitted. Of this number, 1,531 were adopted; 6,385, or 73 percent, were euthanized. On a daily basis, of the 23 admissions at the Farmington shelter, 17 were euthanized — the second worst for euthanizing animals in New Mexico with Tucumcari being No. 1.

Because of the overcrowded conditions of the present shelter, adoptable animals cannot be kept for possible adoption for more than a few days. With an annual rate of 8,600 animals and only 54 kennels and cages, the shelter falls far short of the current Humane Society guidelines.

Keenly aware of the shelter problem, in September 2008, the Farmington mayor and city council mandated a special Pet Project Shelter Steering Committee, both to raise funds for the proposed shelter and to create community awareness. It comprises

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five local citizens and in the past year, this committee has endeavored to fulfill this obligation by meeting with local civic and community groups and businesses, and participating in fairs, booths and other outreaches.

There has been definite progress toward construction of a new shelter. A 10-acre site near Crouch Mesa has been donated by the Bureau of Land Management. With prior-year funding from the state of New Mexico, a design for the proposed 19,000-square-foot shelter has been completed. The construction is virtually shovel-ready.

While the proposed new shelter is on hold because of lack of available funding, our Animal Shelter Steering committee urgently asks the community to continue its support of this much needed project. Committee members are fully aware of the budget challenges facing both the city and county officials at this time, and that funding of existing public services must take priority until such time as the current economic crisis has subsided. However, the committee is encouraged that city officials continue to search for alternative ways to fund the project.

Local businesses, both large and small, have also felt the sting of the economic slowdown, which is why participating businesses and individuals are taking advantage of the committee's option to make their tax deductible donations to the Pet Project over three years.

Already scheduled for the coming year are a Lions Groundhog Day event in February, a Pet Extravaganza at McGee Park in May, and various projects instituted by schools and children with funds donated to the Pet Project. Promotional and educational commitments have been generously offered.

I am confident that with a countywide awareness by our generous citizens, young and old, we can fund and complete the animal shelter. Please help our four-legged friends find a better home and life in our community by making your donation.

Phil Morin is co-chairman of the Pet Project Regional Animal Shelter Steering Committee. For more information, contact The Pet Project at the City of Farmington Parks, Recreation, & Cultural Affairs Department, 901 Fairgrounds Road, Farmington, NM 87401, (505) 599-1428.