{"id":15226,"date":"2025-12-16T16:49:23","date_gmt":"2025-12-16T23:49:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/cortez-animal-shelters-12-strays-of-christmas-partners-with-businesses-to-promote-pet-adoptions\/"},"modified":"2026-03-30T21:46:38","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T03:46:38","slug":"cortez-animal-shelters-12-strays-of-christmas-partners-with-businesses-to-promote-pet-adoptions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/cortez-animal-shelters-12-strays-of-christmas-partners-with-businesses-to-promote-pet-adoptions\/","title":{"rendered":"Cortez Animal Shelter\u2019s 12 Strays of Christmas partners with businesses to promote pet adoptions"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Blue
Blue is a Blue Heeler available for adoption at the Cortez Animal Shelter. The Journal and other businesses are sponsoring animals as part of the shelter\u2019s 12 Strays of Christmas fundraiser. (Bailey Duran\/Special to The Journal)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

Blue the Blue Heeler trotted into The Journal<\/em> on Thursday wearing a festive Santa sweater and flashing a wide grin. He quickly crawled into a lap for cuddles.<\/p>\n

This wasn\u2019t a random holiday visit. Blue was making rounds for the Cortez Animal Shelter\u2019s 12th annual 12 Strays of Christmas fundraiser.<\/p>\n

To participate, businesses, individuals and families sponsor an adoptable animal with a minimum $25 donation. Funds help buy cleaning supplies, pet food and toys, according to Kennel Supervisor Jennifer Crouse.<\/p>\n

As a thank-you, shelter staff advertise participating businesses on Main Street during lunch hour over Christmas break.<\/p>\n

Sponsors so far include The Journal, <\/em>KP Pawn, Laughing Buddha Yoga & Wellness, Slavens True Value, Pierce family (Belva, Nicola and Howdy) and Kidds Automotive Repair.<\/p>\n

\u201cBusiness owners: our four-legged elves will advertise your business at the shelter, on Facebook, in local media and even while strutting down Main Street during lunch walks,\u201d the shelter said in a press release. \u201cTalk about the cutest marketing team ever.\u201d<\/p>\n

Crouse said Blue has been at the shelter for about two months. He was found as a stray with no identification or microchip, and no one has claimed him.<\/p>\n

\"Blue
Blue is thought to be around 8 years old. He is also hard of hearing, but can hear high-pitched sounds. (Bailey Duran\/Special to The Journal)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

The sweet dog is thought to be about 8 years old, despite his youthful appearance. Placing him has been difficult because he is hard of hearing, though he can hear high-pitched sounds.<\/p>\n

Along with Blue, five other dogs and seven cats available for adoption. One stray, a Weimaraner mix named Barry, found a home last week, just in time for Christmas.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019d love to find everybody a home for Christmas,\u201d Crouse said.<\/p>\n

People can view available pets at https:\/\/24petconnect.com<\/a>. To participate in 12 Strays of Christmas, contact the shelter at (970) 565-4910.<\/p>\n

Donations can also be mailed or dropped off at the shelter, 2971 E. Main St., Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.<\/p>\n

Requested items include cleaning supplies such as bleach (original scent), Pine-Sol (original scent), paper towels, liquid dish soap, dryer sheets, high-efficiency laundry soap, Lysol wipes and dishwasher detergent.<\/p>\n

Dog needs: adult dog food (Purina One, Nutro, IAMS), puppy food (Purina One, Nutro, IAMS), Milk-Bones and jerky.<\/p>\n

Cat needs: Purina One (sensitive stomach) cat chow, Purina One or grain-free, clay non-clumping litter and canned kitten food (Fancy Feast).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Shelter has 13 dogs and cats seeking homes<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15227,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[382,431,21,28,60,29],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-15226","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-animal","tag-business-general","tag-cortez","tag-headlines","tag-montezuma-county","tag-newsletter"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15226","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15226"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15226\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19546,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15226\/revisions\/19546"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15227"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15226"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15226"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15226"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=15226"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}