Navajo Nation: Working with communities to achieve improved animal welfare

The dog and cat crisis is quite apparent on the Navajo Nation, an area consisting of 17,055,226 acres of land in southeastern Utah, southwestern Colorado, northeastern Arizona and northwestern New Mexico.

Not only do thousands of cats and dogs die every year as a result of over-breeding, but residents are put at significant risk of attack from homeless animals who band together in packs. Injury and possible exposure to rabies are major concerns.

The majority of the 210,000 people on the Navajo Nation live on fixed incomes. Consequently, those who have pets can seldom afford the limited veterinary services available. Due to the vast area of the Navajo Nation’s land, 60 percent of the Nation does not use sterilization services or proper veterinary preventative care.

Ending the Cycle of Dog and Cat Suffering

IFAW has been working with authorities on the Navajo Nation for over 11 years to help provide education and outreach, and vital veterinary services to low-income residents.

We work with Navajo authorities to help them make the most of their overstretched resources by encouraging consistent, culturally relevant messaging and the enforcement of responsible ownership laws, targeting the most vulnerable populations.

Through our Navajo Nation Puppy Adoption program, we give unwanted puppies a second chance. Oftentimes, unwanted litters of puppies are dumped on the side of the road or left in the desert – a fate that means certain death. By providing the community with a better, more humane option than abandonment, we’re raising the value of dogs and encouraging compassion towards them. By providing relief as well as addressing the root causes from within, IFAW and the Navajo Nation are working to end the cycle of dog and cat suffering.