(bright upbeat music) - Underdog Animal Rescue and Rehab is dedicated to creating healthier, sustainable futures for pets and families across the Four Corners region.

Katy Gullette shares how the organization offers clinics and adoption services for animals in underserved Native communities.

Welcome, Katy.

Thank you so much for joining us.

- Thank you for having me.

- So tell me a bit about this organization and why the decision was made to focus on the areas around the reservation.

- Well, it started a little bit as a fluke, but the reason to focus on the reservation is that they're our neighbors and they are in the midst of an animal welfare crisis.

And being as close as we are, we decided that that was an area that needed attention.

They have a very high poverty rate on the reservation and many, many people, 15,000 homes are estimated to be without electricity and 10,000 homes without running water.

And you put alongside that, the fact that there are half a million stray dogs reported to be roaming on the reservation area in the Four Corners, and you can see why there is a real crisis and essentially no veterinary care available on the reservations.

- And let me see if I have this correct.

I hear that the Underdog team has already rescued more than 4,200 dogs and cats as well.

Is that correct?

- Definitely not as many cats as dogs.

We are Underdog Rescue, after all.

We see a lot of cats at our clinics and we definitely service them with spay, neuter, and treatment services.

I think probably over the nine-and-a-half years or so, we've only taken in maybe 10 cats.

- [Liz] Okay.

- But we're getting closer to, pretty close to 6,000 dogs that we've moved through our program to date.

- Well, I love that.

And, and I love the work that you guys are doing and am grateful that you guys exist.

If anyone who is watching this would like to learn more about Underdog Rescue, we have the information on the screen.

It's Underdog Animal Rescue & Rehab.

Just head to underdogrescuemoab.org for more details and to learn how you can get involved.

I'm Liz Adeola and thank you for watching Contact.

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