VALENCIA COUNTY, N.M. (KRQE) – A Valencia County animal shelter just hired its first full-time veterinarian and is now improving care for pets.
“I came in and did the surgery, and they started trying to convince me to work here,” said veterinarian Ralph Zimmerman.
Valencia County has long needed a full-time in-house veterinarian.
“They need to fix everything before they go out,” Zimmerman said.
Dr. Ralph Zimmerman has extensive experience caring for the state's animals over the past several decades, from working with livestock to being the chief veterinarian at the Albuquerque BioPark Zoo.
“I did a little bit of everything, did private practice, mixed everything big and small except for reptiles. Then I got to learn a lot about reptiles while I was at the zoo,” Zimmerman said. Ta.
After seeing the problems facing shelters across the state, he wanted to help make a difference.
“Valencia County, like much of the state, is not very kind to animals. We're seeing a lot of really emaciated animals, neglected wounds, things that could have been taken care of,” Zimmerman said. .
Now he can call VCAS home.
“It's time to help the county and give something back to the community,” Zimmerman said.
He has several goals in mind as he takes on this position. He starts by helping the county's animals get healthy and ready for his forever home.
“Someone has to do it, and there are a lot of people working quietly behind the scenes to get a lot of things done, but this is a very serious problem across the state,” Zimmerman said.
He also hopes to alleviate some of the burden on busy shelters and communities filled with stray dogs.
“I want to help educate and solve as many problems as possible so we're not just perpetuating the cycle,” Zimmerman said.
Zimmerman said so far they are performing 10 to 15 spays and neuters a day to prevent overpopulation.
