About Us
Spay Taos! is a nonprofit, free spay and neuter clinic serving northern New Mexico. We have four paid staff and everything else is done by volunteers. As a high-quality, high-volume clinic, we can help solve the pet overpopulation crisis facing our communities.
Funding
Our funding comes from generous donors, grants, and government support.
If you are interesting in supporting our program, go to:
Spay Taos! is a 501(c)3 organization.
FEIN 33-1511412
Dr Suzanne Pape, DVM
After graduating in 2015 from Iowa State University, Dr. Suzy moved west and practiced general medicine throughout the Southwest. She has always been drawn to small, mountain towns and has practiced in Moab,UT, Durango, CO, and Ridgway, CO. On her weekends off, she often will work spay/neuter clinics on the surrounding reservations, providing much needed veterinary care to areas with limited access to veterinary services. This work on the reservation has made her realize she can combine both her passion for surgery and providing veterinary care to rural areas. After nine years of practicing general medicine, she decided to take a step in a different direction and accepted the position in Taos as medical director. Dr. Suzy is excited to provide Taos with a much needed solution to address the overpopulation crisis. She believes that spay/neutering has the biggest impact on animal welfare and is hopeful the community will begin to see a difference in the upcoming years. When Dr. Suzy is not working, you can find her trail-running with her two 'rez' dogs, Rango and Greta Von Floof, mountain biking, skiing, practicing yoga, and gardening. She also enjoys international travel and providing veterinary care to other countries. She has done spay/neuter work in Mexico, Suriname, Cambodia, and the Dominican Republic.
Jennifer Davis
Jenn is a veterinary technologies student from San Juan College and former kennel manager at Stray Hearts. Currently spending some of her weekends down in Albuquerque working with Animal Balance at large M.A.S.H. style spay and neuter clinics. Jenn has two dogs (Raider and Dozer) and three cats (Riker, Ellie, and Tweak). When not working you may find Jenn camping or hiking in the mountains.
Leroy Campos
Bio coming soon.
The Spay Taos! Board and Executive Team
Donna LeFurgey, President
Jim Reilly, Treasurer
Laurie DiNatale, Secretary
Donna Karr, Executive Director
Diane Padoven
Dr Suzanne Pape, DVM, Medical Director
Renee Staffeld, DVM, Veterinary Adviser
Kat Laake, Office Manager
Donna LeFurgey came to Taos in 1979 to build her solar Adobe house. This endeavor resulted in becoming a house designer and owner of Design House LLC. In the ensuing years, she was one the founding board members of Habitat for Humanity Taos, a Casa volunteer for Youth Heartline, set up the Adopt a Highway program in Taos and is on a grants committee for the Taos Community Foundation. And, a proud member of the Spay Taos! board. Along the way there have been seven dogs (mostly rescues), four cats and many chickens. She is also an avid gardener, mosaic artist and player of Mahjong.
Jim Reilly has over 35 years of experience working on Wall Street, the last 15 as the Chief Compliance Officer at TIAA and TD Ameritrade. After leaving financial services, he worked at the Humane Society of the United States, merging his passion for animal welfare with his financial and business background. Jim has served on the Board of a number of animal nonprofits as treasurer. He spends part of his time working as an expert witness, testifying in State and Federal court cases, and the balance of his time tending to the small farm he and his wife have in Ranchos. They also have two rescue greyhounds, and a rotating cast of foster puppies.
Laurie DiNatale, a life-long horse, dog and cat lover, came to Taos in 1995 after years of visiting horse friends here. She served 24 years as the executive director of a national nonprofit horse organization that emphasizes safety and humane practices for long-distance riding competitions. Before and after her time as ED she served as a board member for the organization. A few years before retiring in 2016, she was invited to help with a remote spay/neuter clinic on Ramah Navajo lands. That was the start of many clinics and rescue work on the Navajo Nation. Having served as a board member for a group doing rescue, transport and clinics on indigenous lands, she feels fortunate to have done clinics with many animal welfare organizations, learning new things from each one. She continues to volunteer on the Navajo Nation, and Spay Taos, and is dedicated to the cause of providing spay/neuter services as the best solution to pet overpopulation.
Dr Renee Staffeld was born and raised in Ithaca, New York. She attended Cornell University for both her undergraduate and veterinary education. Following her graduation from veterinary school in 2020, Dr. Staffeld went on to complete a year-long shelter medicine internship at Humane Colorado in Denver, CO. After completion of her internship, Dr. Staffeld continued on as an associate veterinarian providing low-cost urgent care services at the CSU SPUR Humane Colorado Hospital. In 2023, Dr. Staffeld returned to Cornell for a year-long clinical instructor position in Shelter Medicine, where she furthered her professional goals and honed her teaching skills. In 2024 Dr. Staffeld moved back to sunny Colorado and has been working as a relief veterinarian, frequently taking trips to the Navajo Reservation to provide spay/neuter and other needed veterinary services. Dr. Staffeld has always loved New Mexico, and visits Taos often. She is happy to assist Spay Taos with their mission to help solve the pet overpopulation crisis facing their communities..
Donna Karr is a retired engineer with years of experience as a project manager. After retiring to Taos, she started volunteering at Stray Hearts then served as Board President and Executive Director until retiring in 2022. While at Stray Hearts, she tried to set up a spay/neuter clinic but Covid came along and she was unsuccessful. In 2023, the pieces started falling into place, first joining Taos Feral Feline Friends to get the clinic up and running. Now we’ve formed a new nonprofit, Spay Taos!, to streamline our services and expand our outreach. Donna rescues senior dogs and currently has eight.
Diane Padoven became a board member of Spay Taos in 2025 after volunteering with the organisation and seeing firsthand the impact of its mission. She brings a background in senior executive leadership from companies including Levi's, J.Crew, and Banana Republic, and currently runs her own consulting business. Diane has served on numerous other nonprofit boards and has long been active in community-based volunteer work. Diane and her husband bought their home in Taos in 1999 and made the full-time move in 2012. Since then, she has become increasingly involved in national and local efforts that support people and animals. Her volunteer work with Spay Taos includes serving on the post-surgery recovery team, providing hands-on care and support to animals after their procedures. She shares her home with two much-loved rescue dogs who remind her daily of the importance of accessible, compassionate care for animals. Diane is honoured to support Spay Taos's mission to reduce pet overpopulation and promote responsible pet ownership in northern New Mexico.
Kat Laake has veterinary assistant training, along with years of experience as office manager. This unique combination makes her the perfect fit for Spay Taos!