Free straw helps keep animals warm

A statewide animal advocacy group is providing free straw for outside animals to help keep them safe and warm.

Animal Protection New Mexico started the Straw Fund in 2011 to provide free straw to Albuquerque households in need for their outside animal companions. The program quickly expanded to include Bernalillo and Santa Fe counties, and this year, it also includes residents of San Miguel County, thanks to a grant from the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

Straw provides effective and inexpensive insulation for outdoor animals. It’s ideal for doghouses and outdoor sleeping areas and offers a warm, slipresistant layer when placed over snow, ice or mud.

The best place for companion animals, especially when it’s cold, is indoors. Those animals who are more comfortable outside should be provided with dog houses or shelter that is waterproof, is placed in an area sheltered from wind and precipitation and has a covered, accessible entrance. Food and water bowls should be checked every few hours for frozen moisture.

Those needing straw for their companion animals can pick bales up at the following locations:

City of Albuquerque Animal Welfare Department’s Eastside and Westside Shelters. Albuquerque residents can call 311 for pickup information.

Bernalillo County Animal Care Services at 1136 Gatewood Ave. SW, Albuquerque; 505-4687387.

City of Santa Fe Animal Services, 505-955-2702.

Santa Fe County Sheriff ’s Animal Control Division, call 505-992-1626.

Las Vegas, N.M., and San Miguel County; call the AWC Pet Center (Las Vegas Animal Shelter) at 505-426-3289.

For information about supporting the program, visit apnm.org.