A local veterinarian wants tougher regulations on the sale of animals in Rio Rancho and she wants to ensure that owners get their animals the proper shots.

Patricia Feeser, a veterinarian at High Desert Animal Hospital and the chair of the Rio Rancho Animal Welfare Task Force, told members of the task force during a meeting on Tuesday at City Hall that she wants the city to ban the sale or adoption of an animal infected with a zoonotic disease, which can pass from animals to humans.

She and her colleagues have firsthand experience of dealing with the aftermath of pet store and puppy mill purchases as well as adoptions from shelters. Feeser is worried too many of these animals are going without their proper shots, thus becoming sick and passing diseases on to humans. Citing a concern for the health of Rio Rancho children and animals, she analyzed medical records of the past three years from her clinic looking at parasites and other zoonotic diseases found in post-purchase and post-adoption examinations of animals. 

She pointed out that 72 percent of pets brought into her clinic for post-adoption exams from Watermelon Mountain Ranch in 2008 had roundworm. That number was 42 percent and 25 percent in 2007 and 2006, respectively. She tested more than 200 animals.

Mike Howland-Davis, a spokesperson for WMR, said they have adopted out more than 16,000 animals during that time. He says the sample size of a little over one percent does not capture the whole picture.

At Tuesday’s meeting, Davis said he was shocked to hear the results and disappointed that Feeser did not contact him before making the results public. He said WMR’s pets are clean and safe and they will continue to be so.

“Our animals are inspected and tested on a regular basis to prevent contamination of parasites,” Davis said. “When we receive animals, they are placed in seven-day quarantine in a sterile room far away from others. At that time, proper medication and vaccinations are given to them.”

WMR constantly cleans and sanitizes its kennels and if an animal is hurt or sick, then the animal receives proper care, Davis said.

One thing Feeser and Davis appear to agree on is that they want animals to be healthy and well taken care of.

“I don’t want the public going home with a sick or injured animal,” Davis said. “I want people to have healthy pets.”

Feeser said she has nothing against Watermelon Mountain Ranch, which is a no-kill animal shelter in the northern part of the city, but she wants them to rectify the problem. She also said she’s willing to work with the ranch to solve the problem.

Roundworms are worms commonly found in untreated puppies and kittens. In addition to being potentially fatal to the animal, roundworms are known as the largest single cause of parasitic blindness in children in the country.

“I think no animal should be sold or adopted out in this city that has roundworms,” Feeser said. “It is very easy to get rid of roundworms, but the problem is it’s not getting done.”

She said people who adopt or purchase pets should take the animal to get his shots as soon as possible, preferably that same day or the next day.

Feeser is using her study as justification for developing stringent facility and sanitation protocols for shelters and pet stores as well as pushing for health requirements of animals sold or adopted in this city. She wants the city to come up with a group of regulations to strengthen current animal ordinances.

The task force meets the first and third Mondays of each month at 6:30 p.m. in City Hall.