ACTion Programs for Animals partnering with Petco for Las Cruces adoption event

LAS CRUCES – Petco and ACTion Programs for Animals are partnering up this weekend for the pet supply chain’s annual Petco National Adoption Day.

APA, a nonprofit animal rescue organization in Las Cruces, will have adoptable kittens and adoptable trained dogs at the store from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, June 17. The nonprofit is offering half-off adoption fees during the month of June for kittens and cats during National Adopt-a-Shelter-Cat Month.

Michel Meunier, executive director of APA, said in a news release that June is the start of “kitten season.” Large litters of kittens are historically born during this season, resulting in an increase in kitten numbers at shelters.

Adoptable dogs joining the event on Saturday are graduates of the Prisoners and Animals Working Toward Success Program (P.A.W.S.), which is a partnership APA has with the Southern New Mexico Correctional Facility in Las Cruces.

According to a news release, P.A.W.S. has been in operation since 2016. Dogs that have resided in the Animal Service Center of the Mesilla Valley, the area municipal shelter, are removed by APA and sent to the prison to be trained by inmates trained as handlers for about two months. The dogs then return to APA for adoption.

“The program has helped us rehabilitate and train hundreds of dogs, most of which we pull from the animal shelter,” said Michel Meunier, executive director of APA, in a news release. “Our in-house P.A.W.S. team keeps up the dogs’ training and showcases them at adoption events.”

Petco is located at 3050 E. Lohman Ave., Building D.

People can also learn more about APA and available adoptable animals online at apalascruces.org or they can visit in-person from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday and Saturday at 537 N. Solano Dr. Appointments can be made by calling 575-571-4654.

Leah Romero is the trending reporter at the Las Cruces Sun-News and can be reached at 575-418-3442, LRomero@lcsun-news.com or @rromero_leah on Twitter.

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