Paws to the Wall Rescue & Behavioral

The kiddos are having SO much fun with our new setup.

I read a blog post a few weeks ago about some of the many things that can (and do) go wrong in rescue and create an environment that’s not beneficial for the dogs but becomes a warehousing situation without real enrichment, play or socialization. It can happen so easily, one correction or step out of line and a dog is labeled as dog aggressive and not given access to the things that keep them mentally healthy. Of course, there ARE dogs who are dog aggressive, but a lot of times it becomes easier just to not allow dogs to interact. Dog fights are traumatizing. Trust me, I know. On top of that, we are operating on such small budgets that the idea of needing an emergency vet visit makes social time seem like less of a priority. A very important statement from that blog post was that we can’t let the idea of a vet bill keep us from letting dogs live their best lives. Adopters want dogs that can be friends with other dogs, that can go out to the dog park or the brewery or camping, and it’s doing a disservice to the future outcomes of our dogs not to do everything in our power to allow them to learn how to safely socialize. Of course, we always want to keep everyone safe, it’s not JUST about the potential vet bill, but when an organization is constantly intaking more dogs than they can handle and not having the time to get to know their personalities and play styles, it becomes easier just to keep them isolated. And the result of this is dogs that are less adoptable and often get behavioral labels that can lead to euthanasia or other negative outcomes down the road.
For us, play and socialization are absolutely essential to the rehabilitation process. We’ve really lucked out that this play group has a totally friendly dynamic and we haven’t had to use de-escalation tactics at all in their introductions. I could ramble on for another 5 page essay on the ways things that we do to ensure safe and comfortable play but I’ll spare you that this morning 😂

Just added some good stuff from this sale to our wish list in case anyone wants to take advantage and spoil our pups ❤️
Wishlist will be in comments 🙏🥰

Pet Days: May 11-15 Save up to 25% off toys

Meet Cornbread! He is from a feral pack on Taos Pueblo. We were called by Spay Taos because the Pueblo’s wonderful animal control officer asked them to euthanize this little guy because there is simply no place to take unsocialized dogs. We couldn’t let that happen without at least giving him a chance 🥺

Sweet Penny has healed up extremely well and is looking for a soft landing for her next phase of healing.
She was attacked by dogs or coyotes and left for dead by her previous owner despite being the sweetest most loving senior lady.
We will cover all costs associated with Penny’s care to get her into a loving foster/forever home. A senior wellness exam will be scheduled this week so we can make sure her general health (apart from her still- healing wounds) is stable.
Penny is extremely quiet, calm and low maintenance and would do best without other rambunctious canines in the house as she’s still healing and has some trauma from being repeatedly attacked in a pack setting before. If you fit the bill and can open your home to this wonderful girl, please reach out here or email [email protected]

Edit #2: her owner has been located and she will be surrendered to our care. We’ll be focused on getting her healthy then decide what’s next.
Edit to add: thank you all so much for your love and support for Penny. Dr Suzy says her heart and lungs sound good and places her about in the 14yo range. We’re out of the danger zone for potential pneumothorax which was our biggest concern so now it’s just about getting her healed and rested and if she’s still in our care at that point, we’ll get her a full senior evaluation and go from there.

Miss Penny is feeling much better after being brought to us on Sunday covered in punctures which appear to be from multiple dog or coyote attacks.
First slide was last night after dinner and second slide was when she had just arrived.
Thank goodness we have several amazing vets who are always happy to provide assessment and treatment advice when these urgent situations come in and no clinics are open. We spent about 4 hours cleaning and dressing Penny’s wounds on Sunday, giving her fluids and getting her comfy. She’s on pain meds and antibiotics and will be seeing the wonderful .suzyp this morning.
Her owner has still not come forward. If you recognize Penny, please send any leads our way. She seems to have been adopted in Colorado in 2016 and was found in Tres Piedras.

Our boy is going to the vet this morning!🥰
Grateful for any contributions

Rio is still hanging with his friend, Emi, at Paws to the Wall Rescue & Behavioral as we get his space ready at THU. He’s been brushed and cuddled and treated like the prince he is! Thank you, Emi!!

He has a vet appointment scheduled for this morning at Salazar and it would be awesome if we could get some help with the costs of getting him all checked out.

If you have a few dollars to spare, you can donate directly to Salazar Vet at 575-758-9115 and let them know you’re donating for Rio under Taos Hound Underground.

Other ways to donate: Visit our site https://taoshoundunderground.org Help The Hounds page (choose any drop down item if donating thru the PayPal link). Or directly through the PayPal app/site using [email protected], Venmo using TaosHoundUnderground last 4 of our ph no. 3066.

Call/text 575-613-3066 with ANY questions 😊

Off we go to get him to his appointment!



📸 Emi Wall/Paws To The Wall

*Dog is just resting*

Looks like we’ll be putting the Missy Trap to use soon, in collaboration with

This is the same pup Emi posted about, we are hoping to make things easier on the pup and everyone who has been trying to help him. If he doesn’t have an owner, we will need a foster asap. Let one of us know (Emi with Paws To The Wall or me/Jen ) if you have the capacity to care for this boy. He will also need a vet visit once humanely secured. One of us will post about that once he’s safe.

If anyone is interested in learning to set up the Missy Trap, or making a few posters, or monitoring the trap so we can take a break, or helping in any way, please reach out 575-613-3066.