LOCAL

Giant plant sale benefits no-kill animal shelter

Advice on gardening will be offered at plant sale to benefit no-kill animal shelter

Ruidoso News Report
  • Many healthy animals ready for adoption
All 1 gallon to 15 gallon living arrangements are offered in "grow bags."

To continue to fund care for nearly 100 adoptable pets at New Mexico’s largest no-kill animal shelter, Animal Village NM will host “Thrillers, Fillers, & Spillers,” purported to be the biggest plant sale fundraiser ever in Otero County.

The giant plant sale will run from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., Saturday, June 24 at the village location on U.S. 70.

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“Thrillers, Fillers, & Spillers’ is the most modern way to arrange living plants in eye-catching displays, and we’ve added a new twist, attractive, aerating fabric ‘grow bags’ “ Animal Village NM board member, Judi Anderson said. “The event will be under shady pavilions with misters, and people won’t want to leave. All living arrangements are offered in 1, 3, 5, 7, 10 and 15 gallon sizes, and the grow bags are designed to stay clean with just a hosing.

A pavilion is full of plant waiting for customers to benefit the shelter.

“We’re also thrilled that Lowe’s Home Improvement nursery specialists will be here for the event, to offer gardening help about desert and mountain locations, and how to best feed different plants. We made this super easy, all arrangements are grouped for sun, partial sun, and shade locations, with matching plants in the bags.”

More:Advice offered on picking plants for the mountains

Village Director Sunny Aris aid, “We’ll be offering tours of our shelter, and show off our new “Mommy & Me’ play yard, donated by Eastern New Mexico Surgery Center. We always love the opportunity to show the public can learn about the care and training our pets receive. We’ll also be bringing out our current litters of ‘puppies’, and will have them in our park near the plant sale, for those who want some puppy breath.”

A station for children will show them how to make a recycled planter out of ”throwaway” materials. Every child will go home with a plant of their own, for free, Aris said.

“We’re so grateful to Lowe’s Home Improvement for donating many of the plants, and for their expertise with this new style of growing arrangements- they’re even donating a beautiful park bench as a doorprize!” Anderson said.

Joshua Robert is one of Animal Village NM's puppies who will say hello to plant shoppers Saturday.

Event proceeds will help meet the expenses of the 9-acre, 24-hour no-kill facility in Alamogordo, Aris said.

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More than 135,000 pets are abandoned annually just to animal control facilities in New Mexico, to be destroyed at taxpayers’ expense, she said.

“Animal Village NM has now passed our 1,200th rescue since 2010,” Aris said. “Our pets are all spayed or neutered, fully vaccinated, and microchipped. Our dogs are obedience trained, then go to responsible adopters. We've had recent adopters fly in from as far as Canada, Illinois, California, Rhode Island, New York and California, because our pets are healthy, and even our puppies are potty trained. AVNM’s adoption policies are part of New Mexico’s responsible solution.”

Animal Village NM is at 7246 U.S. 54-70, in Alamogordo, one mile south of the Big Pistachio.