Pet Theft Penalties in New Mexico: Charges, Fines, and Jail Time Explained
October 29, 2026
If someone walks off with your dog outside a grocery store in Albuquerque, or your cat disappears after a falling-out with a neighbor in Santa Fe, you might expect New Mexico to have a dedicated crime called “pet theft” waiting to punish the culprit. It doesn’t. The pet theft penalty in New Mexico is built entirely on the state’s general theft law, which means the value assigned to your animal drives almost every decision a prosecutor makes.
That single detail surprises a lot of pet owners, especially when the animal in question is a rescue with no purchase price or a senior dog nobody would sell for any amount of money. This guide walks through how New Mexico actually charges pet theft, what penalties a convicted thief faces, the civil options available to you, and the steps to take the moment you realize your pet is gone.
Whether Stealing a Pet Is a Crime Under New Mexico Law
Taking someone’s dog, cat, or other companion animal without consent is a crime in New Mexico, even though the state has no statute that uses the word “pet theft” or “dognapping.” New Mexico does not have a standalone “pet theft” or “dognapping” statute. Instead, the law reaches back over a century to a short property statute that still governs how courts treat animals today.
Under a law first enacted in 1912, dogs, cats and domesticated fowls and birds shall be deemed and considered as personal property, and all remedies given for the recovery of personal property and of damages for injuries thereto are hereby extended to them. That means a dog (Canis lupus familiaris) or a cat (Felis catus) is legally treated the same way as a stolen bicycle or laptop once a theft case reaches court, for better or worse.
This property classification is why owners can’t rely on emotional attachment or sentimental value to drive a criminal case. If you’re also dealing with a neighbor dispute involving a cat that keeps showing up uninvited, the rules around a neighbor’s cat wandering into your yard follow a related but distinct legal framework from outright theft.
How New Mexico Charges Pet Theft: Animal-Specific Statutes vs General Theft or Larceny
New Mexico prosecutors charge pet theft under the same larceny statute used for everyday property crimes. Larceny consists of the stealing of anything of value which belongs to another. There’s no carve-out in the text for living creatures beyond the personal-property designation already covered above.
Dog theft in New Mexico folds into the same larceny statute used for stolen bicycles, tools, and electronics, which means the value assigned to your dog determines almost everything about how the case unfolds. That approach differs from how the state handles a handful of other animal-related situations. Livestock, for example, gets its own felony-level protection regardless of dollar value, which you can read about in more detail in the guide on estray livestock laws in New Mexico.
New Mexico does regulate possession of certain animals separately from theft law. Exotic pet ownership, for instance, runs through its own permitting system rather than the larceny statute, as explained in the overview of hedgehog ownership laws in New Mexico. But once an animal is stolen rather than simply possessed without a permit, the general larceny framework takes over.
Important Note: Because New Mexico has no animal-specific theft crime, a pet theft penalty in New Mexico case and a stolen-television case can move through the exact same statute, docket, and sentencing chart.
Felony vs Misdemeanor Thresholds for Stealing a Dog, Cat, or Companion Animal in New Mexico
Whether stealing a pet lands someone in magistrate court on a misdemeanor or in district court facing a felony comes down entirely to the fair market value a prosecutor or court assigns to the animal. The larceny statute breaks value into five tiers.
| Value of the Stolen Pet | Charge Level |
|---|---|
| $250 or less | Petty misdemeanor |
| Over $250 but not more than $500 | Misdemeanor |
| Over $500 but not more than $2,500 | Fourth degree felony |
| Over $2,500 but not more than $20,000 | Third degree felony |
| Over $20,000 | Second degree felony |
These figures come straight from the statute: whoever commits larceny when the value of the property stolen is two hundred fifty dollars ($250) or less is guilty of a petty misdemeanor, over two hundred fifty dollars ($250) but not more than five hundred dollars ($500) is guilty of a misdemeanor, over five hundred dollars ($500) but not more than two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500) is guilty of a fourth degree felony, over two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500) but not more than twenty thousand dollars ($20,000) is guilty of a third degree felony, and over twenty thousand dollars ($20,000) is guilty of a second degree felony.
Livestock is the one glaring exception to this value-based system. Whoever commits larceny when the property of value stolen is livestock is guilty of a third degree felony regardless of its value. A stolen goat worth $150 and a stolen goat worth $1,500 face the same charge level, which is not how a stolen dog or cat of the same value would be treated. Anyone hauling animals across county lines should also check the livestock trailer requirements in New Mexico, since transport violations can compound an already serious charge.
Pro Tip: Keep veterinary records, adoption paperwork, purchase receipts, and microchip registration for your pet. These documents are usually what a court or prosecutor relies on to establish the dollar value that decides whether a case is a misdemeanor or a felony.
Fines, Jail or Prison Time, and Restitution for Pet Theft in New Mexico
Once a charge level is set, New Mexico’s general sentencing statute dictates the punishment range. At the lowest tier, a petty misdemeanor is punishable by no more than six months of incarceration in county jail or a fine not to exceed $500, or both. Step up one level and a person guilty of misdemeanor larceny is subject to up to one year in jail and a $1,000 fine.
Felony-level pet theft carries far heavier consequences. A fourth degree felony is punishable by 18 months of imprisonment and a $5,000 fine. A third degree felony is punishable by three years of imprisonment and a $5,000 fine. At the top end, a second degree felony is punishable by nine years of imprisonment and a $10,000 fine.
A defendant’s criminal history can push the sentence even higher. New Mexico’s habitual offender laws add one year to a sentence for a felony larceny offense if the offender has one prior felony conviction, four years if the offender has two prior felony convictions, and eight years if the offender has three or more. These enhancements apply on top of the base felony sentence, not instead of it.
Restitution, meaning a court order to repay the pet’s value or veterinary costs, can accompany any of these sentences, but it doesn’t substitute for punishment. Restitution does not wipe out the crime of larceny and does not deprive the state of the right to prosecute for the crime, a principle New Mexico’s courts affirmed in State v. Odom. In practice, that means a thief who pays your vet bills back can still face jail time or a felony record.
Civil Damages, Treble Recovery, or Related Claims After Pet Theft in New Mexico
Criminal charges and civil claims run on separate tracks, and you don’t need a conviction to pursue the second. Because dogs, cats and domesticated fowls and birds are personal property, and all remedies given for the recovery of personal property and of damages for injuries thereto are extended to them, you can bring the same civil actions available for any stolen possession.
The two most relevant claims are replevin and conversion. Replevin is a court action aimed at recovering the animal itself rather than just money. A plaintiff will generally recover possession of the pet by merely showing ownership of the pet and its wrongful detention by the defendant, which is typically pursued through a formal replevin filing. Conversion, by contrast, seeks monetary compensation for the wrongful taking rather than the pet’s physical return.
New Mexico does have a treble-damages framework, but it’s narrowly written for retail settings rather than pet theft between private individuals. An adult who commits shoplifting in New Mexico may be civilly liable to the merchant for the retail value of the merchandise and punitive damages of at least $100 but not more than $250, plus the store’s legal costs. That statute doesn’t extend to a neighbor who takes off with your cat, so any punitive award in a private pet theft dispute would come through a general conversion claim rather than an automatic multiplier.
Important Note: New Mexico has no standalone treble-damages statute for pet theft between individuals. Punitive damages in a conversion or replevin claim are decided case by case, so speak with a licensed attorney about what’s realistic in your situation.
If your dispute involves questions about a cat’s legal ownership status rather than an outright theft, the guidance on declawing laws for cats in New Mexico touches on related ownership and welfare obligations that sometimes surface in these civil disputes.
How to Report a Stolen Pet to Police or Animal Control in New Mexico
Acting quickly improves your odds of recovering a stolen pet and strengthens any future criminal or civil case. Follow these steps as soon as you suspect theft rather than a simple escape or wandering incident.
- File a police report immediately. Give the responding officer or dispatcher a description of the animal, the circumstances of the theft, and any surveillance footage or witness names you have.
- Contact local animal control. Many New Mexico municipalities run animal control separately from police and may already have intake or hold records if the pet was picked up as a stray.
- Gather proof of ownership. Microchip registration, vet records, adoption contracts, and photos with timestamps all help establish that the animal is legally yours.
- Check shelters and rescues in person. Photos online don’t always match; visit in person when possible.
- Send a written demand if you know the suspect. A dated letter asking for the pet’s return creates a paper trail before any civil filing.
For a broader look at how New Mexico’s animal welfare agencies handle complaints beyond theft, the animal cruelty reporting process in New Mexico covers similar intake channels you may need to use if the theft also involved neglect or mistreatment. It’s also worth reviewing the companion breakdown of dognapping laws in New Mexico for practical prevention steps before a theft ever happens.
Possession, Sale, or Transfer of a Stolen Pet Under New Mexico Law
New Mexico doesn’t stop at punishing the person who physically takes the pet. Anyone who later buys, holds, or resells that animal knowing it was stolen faces separate criminal exposure under the receiving stolen property statute, which mirrors the larceny value tiers almost exactly.
Whoever commits receiving stolen property when the value of the property is two hundred fifty dollars ($250) or less is guilty of a petty misdemeanor, over two hundred fifty dollars ($250) but not more than five hundred dollars ($500) is guilty of a misdemeanor, and over five hundred dollars ($500) but not more than two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500) is guilty of a fourth degree felony. The same escalation to third and second degree felonies applies above those amounts, just as it does for the original theft.
Livestock carries an additional wrinkle here too. Transporting stolen livestock consists of knowingly transporting or carrying any stolen or unlawfully possessed livestock or any unlawfully possessed game animal, and whoever commits transporting stolen livestock is guilty of a fourth degree felony. That’s a separate charge from receiving stolen property, meaning someone hauling stolen animals in a trailer could face both.
This is exactly why buyers should slow down before purchasing a dog or cat from an unfamiliar seller online or through a classified ad. As one practical guide to the state’s dog theft laws puts it, anyone buying a dog from an unfamiliar seller, whether online or through a classified ad, should ask hard questions before handing over cash. If you regularly deal with animals taken under New Mexico’s game laws rather than pet theft, the requirements outlined in the hunting license requirements in New Mexico show how differently the state treats lawful possession versus theft-tainted possession of an animal.
Selling or transferring a stolen pet doesn’t erase the original owner’s legal claim, either. Even a buyer who paid full price and had no idea the animal was stolen can be ordered to return it in a civil replevin action, though that buyer may then have their own claim against whoever sold them the animal.
New Mexico’s pet theft penalty structure rewards owners who document their animals well and act fast when something goes wrong. Because the state folds pet theft into general larceny and receiving-stolen-property law rather than a dedicated statute, the dollar value you can prove often matters more than the emotional reality of losing a family member. Filing a police report, contacting animal control, and preserving ownership records early gives you the strongest position whether the case proceeds criminally, civilly, or both.
Disclaimer: This article is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Laws change and individual circumstances vary, so consult a licensed New Mexico attorney for guidance specific to your situation.