ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — “It was really our founder’s appetite to give back to her community, which has given so much to her and her family,” said Andrew Matek, the outreach coordinator for Los Sueños.

That appetite to give is almost as big as the appetite of the hungry, homeless pets that Los Sueños Community Giving helps. They’re a new local nonprofit looking to expand their efforts to help people and pets who are homeless in the Albuquerque metro.

Los Sueños partnered with Storehouse New Mexico, shortly after its creation in late-2023, for pet food distribution.

“It’s actually really impactful to hear the stories of people who have shared that they’ve chosen to go hungry and been concerned about how they’re going to feed themselves, but they always put their pets first. So we’re grateful to help fill that need,” said Matek.

Clients, like Sylvia, are grateful too. Sylvia was with her dog “Bowser” in the distribution line Friday morning. She told us she’s in between jobs and turned to the Storehouse for a little extra help.

“I’ve known about it for a long time, but I didn’t start coming back to the Storehouse until maybe the last six months or so,” Sylvia said.

Los Sueños’ effort is an extra benefit to Sylvia.

“Relieves the stress of not worrying about if I got food for him or not,” she said.

Sylvia considers Bowser a service dog. She is hard of hearing and says there will be a day when she’s deaf.

“Keeping my positivity up. Otherwise, without him I’d feel lost,” Sylvia said.

Los Sueños also hosts microchip and vaccination clinics. They also do direct street outreach to carry out the mission beyond just the Storehouse property.

“We’re big gap fillers and so we work to identify gaps in existing programs, as well as to fill those, and also help support other organizations at the same time,” Matek said.

Los Sueños mostly counts on individual donations to keep its supply stocked and are always looking to expand with more business partnerships.

“For a lot of folks, these pets are not only their companion, but they’re their mental health support. They’re also their security in a number of different ways,” said Matek.

That makes their mission that much more personal.

If you’d like to donate to Los Sueños, you can visit their website or one of these drop-off locations:

• Best Friends Pet Passings + Cremations
• Blue Cross Animal Clinic
• Dogtopia of Albuquerque
• Eubank Animal Clinic
• Los Ranchos Veterinary Clinic
• Rio Bravo Veterinary Hospital
• Roadrunner Veterinary Emergency & Specialty Hospital