THE SCOOP ON THE SPRING GARDEN FESTIVAL

May in New Mexico is spring at its peak—what better way to honor the occasion than with a nature and wildlife celebration? The Spring Garden Festival is put on annually by the Friends of the Rio Grande Nature Center, and it focuses on all things wildlife (despite the plant-centric moniker). Here’s some handy info to keep in mind as you mark your calendars for this special event. Subhed: What kinds of things will be there? You’ll find scheduled bird and nature walks, special lecturers, tables with biological artifacts (bones, feathers, pelts, etc.), kids’ craft activities, and—arguably best of all—the team from Wildlife Rescue Inc. brings some of their non-releasable flying friends to hang out and educate.

WHEN IS IT?

This is a perfect event to take the kids to for some quality time together: the Spring and Garden Festival takes place on Mother’s Day weekend!

WHAT ELSE CAN WE DO THERE?

After you’ve toured all the booths and seen some of the incredible birds, the nature center has an observation room—a glass wall separates you from a stunning view of one of the ponds, and not only can you see birds there, but frogs, turtles, squirrels and more. Lucky for you, volunteers are usually posted at this site during the Festival to help identify any and all fauna you spot. We’ll see you there!

By EMMA TREVINO

Chloe

Tracy Goodson’s intentions to only take Chloe in for a short time were derailed when Goodson fell in love with the longhaired tabby. “She had such a great personality and I ended up being like, ‘You know what? I’m going to keep her,’” says Goodson. “I knew I couldn’t give her up.” It’s been about 10 months since Chloe first came into Goodson’s life, and she can’t imagine her life without the four-year-old.

“She’s extremely loving, she wants to tell you ‘I’m here, I’m here,’ all the time!” says Goodson. “There’s this new thing that she’s doing where she wants to sit on my shoulders.”

Chloe has also earned the title of one of the world’s few ping pong-playing felines, which is quite the achievement (even if she uses her paws instead of a paddle). Ping pong balls aside, the playthings scattered around the house are enough to prove how treasured this cat really is. “I don’t have kids but it looks like I do because there are toys everywhere in my living room,” Goodson says laughing. “She has zoomies constantly, and I call her ‘Spider Man’ because she thinks she can climb up walls.” This begs the question: can Chloe swing from a web? Unfortunately, the answer is no (she is just a cat, after all), but Goodson’s furry friend is a much-loved companion anyway.

Rosco

Some pets come into their owners’ lives by chance, but Zach Guilmette knew from the start he wanted to adopt. “I was looking for a dog that would be a good companion to go hiking with, hang out down by the river, or just play in the backyard with me,” he says. “I found him at the Bernalillo County (Animal Care and Resource) Center, and he was eight weeks old.” The blue heeler/cattle dog mix is now 10 months and doing better than ever. Just like Guilmette was hoping, Rosco’s an avid outdoors-dog, if you will, and thrives around his human friends. “I got really lucky because when you go down to the shelter, you don’t really know what you’re going to get,” says Guilmette. “Rosco loves to be petted—he’s just really chill.”

When Rosco isn’t helping out at Canteen Brewing (where Guilmette works as Head Brewer) or munching down on chickpeas—his favorite snack—you’ll find him playing with his favorite Cookie Monster toy and making sure his owner is giving him all the attention he needs.

Is your pet ATM’s next Pet of the Month? Send a photo and short story about why you think your pet belongs in these pages to petofthemonth@abqthemag.com.