Thieves steal $20K worth of medical equipment from pet charity

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Placitas-based nonprofit “Helping Paws Across Borders” may run out of supplies soon after thousands of dollars of their equipment was stolen.

“We’re here on the Navajo Nation to spay and neuter for free. Little babies like this,” said Angie Cherry, founder & CEO of Helping Paws Across Borders.  

Helping Paws Across Borders offers free veterinarian treatments to animals across New Mexico’s Pueblos. Saturday was the kickoff to a 6-day clinic on the Navajo Nation. 

“Helping Paws Across Borders has been here for 18 years now, and this is the first time anything of this magnitude has happened,” said Cherry. 

But the group’s efforts were severely hurt after their trailer full of medical supplies was stolen from the Route 66 Casino parking lot this week. 

“We are a nonprofit we rely on, you know, donations, grant money and stuff. So it’s really sad for everybody that our stuff was just taken away from us like that. Nobody cared, you know, so we’re very sad about that,” Cherry said. 

The trailer had $20,000 worth of medical supplies from an ultrasound machine to medicine for animals. 

But the clinic is pulling through with help from the community.

“We have gotten some donations just to get us through for a couple of days, but we’re almost out of those. So something that we’re desperately in need of is catheters, IV catheters,” said Cherry. 

Cherry says the support gives her some hope after such a big loss to the nonprofit.

“That’s the one thing that makes us all happy that our community is supporting us that what we’re doing matters,” she said. 

And to whoever took the trailer:

“Have a heart, think of what we’re doing. All the medicine and all the things that could help these animals is in the back of that trailer,” said Cherry. 

The group will be in To’hajiilee all week to finish the clinic. They’re asking if you have any information on the trailer to reach out to them on their Facebook page.