NEW MEXICO (KRQE) – A local dog rescue group is trying to get some attention to what they call a major case of animal hoarding. At least 50 dogs are kept in cages on a Rowe, New Mexico property, and the group says authorities are doing nothing to help. There are three pens, filled with about 20 dogs each. “They’ve been breeding like rabbits,” said Andrew Lopez, the property owner. “From a dozen, it’s up to over 50,” Lopez said.
Lopez says he’s asked the tenant to get the dogs off the property, but they refuse. Now he’s in the process of trying to evict the dog’s owner, but it’s tied up in court. He and Angela Stell, the founder of NM Dog, are worried about the well-being of the dogs.
Stell says the owners claim to be a wolf sanctuary, “They’re not wild wolves,” said Stell. “You can tell by looking at them, they’re like husky, border collie, healer mixes,” Stell said. She says they even solicit donations online to help take care of them.
Court records show the owner has been slapped with at least 91 citations for failing to vaccinate the dogs, and improper care and maintenance. Stell says once, while on the property she found a dog with a broken leg, and reported it to Las Vegas Animal Control.
The report says the dog owner didn’t believe he needed to take him to the vet, because he performed an alternative medicine technique, and the dog was healed, but animal control insisted he gets the dog checked. Stell says she’s requested an investigation from the San Miguel County Sheriff, but she says they’ve ignored her. She’s now turning to the Attorney General’s Office for help.
KRQE News 13 reached out to the San Miguel County Sheriff’s Office but did not hear back. The Attorney General’s Office says they are investigating the allegations.
