Watermelon Mountain Ranch celebrates upgrades with Leadership Sandoval group

RIO RANCHO — Watermelon Mountain Ranch, New Mexico’s largest pet adoption agency, celebrated a project done by Leadership Sandoval’s Crazy 8’s team May 17 at the ranch’s Rio Rancho location.

The Leadership Sandoval project included an upgraded fence capable of housing goats, a new awning and better spaces to meet with the animals.

Team leader and RioTECH principal Kris Johnson said the pet transport was also going to be updated. He added that the goat enclosure was a big improvement from the wood fence enclosure it used to be.

The team also inlcuded Todd Johnson, Jackson Davis, Marissa Matthies, Jennifer Dean, Collette Allen and Kyle Nordin.

WMR Founder Sophia DiClemente was grateful to the team, saying the upgrades are “great” and help with the agency’s functionality.

“We’re going to be around for a long, long time,” she said.

DiClemente stated that Watermelon Mountain Ranch has helped more than 250,000 dogs and cats since its beginning in 1994, when they worked out of PetSmart.

Manager Angel Ridsdale said the whole point of the adoption agency is to find homes for animals.

“That is what’s going to come out of the ranch the most, is helping find these animals happy homes, healthy homes,” she said.

At this moment, WMR has nearly 48 adoptable dogs and 17 adoptable cats on its website. The organization is also looking for volunteers and foster parents for the animals.

For more information, visit wmranch.org.