Fiesta Subaru donates $58,000 to Watermelon Mountain Ranch shelter

Fiesta Subaru handed Watermelon Mountain Ranch Animal Shelter a $58,000 check at a June 20 adoption event in Albuquerque, and the shelter’s own posted minimum care cost suggests the gift could underwrite basic care for 173 animals, with about $304 left over. The check was presented at the dealership on 7100 Lomas Blvd., where visitors brought dogs to play games and met animals available for adoption.

That money lands at Watermelon Mountain Ranch’s main campus in NE Rio Rancho, where adoptions and tours run Wednesday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., with tours until 3 p.m. The shelter describes itself as New Mexico’s largest no-kill rescue and says it saves thousands of dogs and cats each year. Founded in 1996 by Lee and Sophia DiClemente and converted into a nonprofit in 2001, it has since adopted out more than 20,000 animals, according to shelter listings.

The practical measure is straightforward. Watermelon Mountain Ranch’s details page puts the minimum cost to care for a pet at $333.50, covering the food and medical support that make an animal adoptable. On that math, Fiesta Subaru’s gift could pay that baseline for 173 animals. For Bernalillo County families looking to adopt, that kind of funding matters because it helps absorb the cost of vaccinations, treatment and daily care before a dog is ready to leave the shelter.

It also makes the local rescue pipeline more flexible. A gift at that scale will not empty the kennels or erase every wait, but it can ease pressure on intake and foster space by paying for the basics that keep animals healthy enough to move toward adoption. The shelter’s June 20 event tied the donation to a live adoption effort, including Percy, a dog promoted for adoption that day.

The donation also fits Subaru’s broader pet campaign. Subaru says its Subaru Loves Pets effort is designed to improve the lives of shelter animals, and the company cites ASPCA figures showing 5.8 million dogs and cats entered shelters and rescues in 2024. Subaru says its retailers provided more than $3 million in direct aid to shelters through ASPCA-administered grants in October 2024, while Share the Love has raised nearly $320 million for charity over 17 years and affected more than 134,000 animals through the ASPCA partnership.