Our MIssion:
Our MIssion:
A Non-Profit (501(c)(3) Organization, founded in 1998
Founded in 1998, the Chama Valley Humane Society is an all-volunteer 501(c)(3) organization supported
entirely through fundraising, private donations, and occasional grants.
Our mission is to provide no-kill solutions to reduce the population of homeless cats and dogs by sponsoring a
spay and neuter program for companion pets and feral cats, working with regional shelters and foster homes to
rehabilitate and rehome animals, and educating those in the community we serve about responsible pet
ownership.
We serve a 600-square-mile area of northern Rio Arriba County, New Mexico. We support a low-cost spay-
neuter program for community pet owners to help defray the costs associated with sterilization. To obtain a
voucher, please call 888-666-0641 and leave a callback number (on our mailbox 1. We will return your call
(make sure you have a working mailbox-we will only make one call back) and send you a voucher by mail once
we obtain the information we need. You may also pick up a voucher at the Chama Library during working hours
(now on Highway 17/Terrace Avenue in Chama) or from the Friends of the Library Bookstore (on the corner of
Terrace and 5th Avenue).
We do not have a shelter for housing animals, but we try to take in all animals we can from the Village of
Chama holding facility as well as strays and unwanted animals throughout our region. Depending on our
available foster homes, we foster animals until they can be adopted or transferred to no- or low-kill shelters or
rescues. We focus on puppies and kittens, as these are more adoptable and easier to transfer, which means
they do not tie up our foster homes for as long a period.
Thank you for your support!
ABOUT US
Spay-Neuter Statistics
In 2022, Chama Humane issued 373 low-cost vouchers to community residents to help defray the cost of spaying and neutering
companion cats and dogs as well as to cover complete surgical costs for free-roaming and feral cats trapped and transported to the vet
by local residents. About 45% of the vouchers issued were actually used (167).
The following graph shows the increase in requests for and use of vouchers during 2022 over previous years and the breakdown of
vouchers issued and used by species and gender from 2017-2022.
Rescue Statistics
Chama Humane has no shelter, so all our intakes must be fostered or remain with owners or finders until we can place them. At
present, we have fewer than five active foster homes. We place priority on taking in animals in danger or those with no place to go.
The following chart shows Chama Humane’s rescue statistics from 2008 through 2022.
In 2022, Chama Humane had 151 intakes and 151 outcomes. In most cases the animals were taken into temporary foster, but some
received medical care and were rehomed or transferred without coming into foster care. Most rescues were puppies (70) and most of
our intakes were transferred to other rescue organizations in Colorado or New Mexico;
about 55 animals were adopted out and 4 strays were returned to owners. Four young puppies and two young kittens did not survive.
One adult dog remained in foster at the end of December 2022. Most of the animals we took in were strays or relinquished by owners
in the Chama valley area.
Chama Humane also maintains an active Facebook page and we have helped reunite many pets with their owners through our
postings. Unless we take these animals into our active foster program and/or provide medical treatment, we do not track these animals
as intakes.
