In an effort to prevent dogs from being returned to the county’s already overcrowded shelters and adoption centers, the Doña Ana County Humane Society (DACHS) established the Ruff to Ready Program. Ruff to Ready offers free basic behavior training for recently adopted shelter dogs, shelter dogs in foster care, or dogs in foster-to-adopt homes. DACHS partners with our municipal shelter, the Animal Services Center of the Mesilla Valley (ASCMV), and the ACTion Programs for Animals adoption facility to provide the Ruff to Ready Training Program. 

The Nusenda Foundation recently awarded a $4,600 Community Rewards grant to the Doña Ana County Humane Society to support the Ruff to Ready Program and enable the expansion of the program to include training for dogs that need to be adopted from the ASCMV. This spring, DACHS will begin to offer training to adoptable pets while they are still housed at the shelter. Providing training for loose leash walking, jumping, and nose training would give shelter pets tools that would help make them more adoptable and address behavioral issues that sometimes hold them back from participating in community adoption events.

As a second-year grant recipient, we are grateful for the partnership with the Nusenda Foundation and for their commitment to keeping people and pets together.”

The Nusenda Foundation believes that when we work together, we have the power to create positive change in communities across New Mexico. The Community Rewards Program, which is made possible through the financial partnership between Nusenda Credit Union and its members, allows contributions to be shared with partner organizations and nonprofits to strengthen and support the needs of the communities where we live, work, and play. Nusenda Credit Union members guide investments toward the five focus areas of education, healthcare, environment and wildlife, the arts, and community services.