PACC in urgent need of adopters and fosters

PIMA COUNTY, ARIZONA – Pima Animal Care Center is out of space for incoming dogs. All kennels, including non-public ones, are being used to hold stray pets. The shelter is also placing pop-up kennels around the shelter to make room.

“We‘ve been at capacity since June and we are now critical again,” said Monica Dangler, Director of Animal Services. “PACC needs your help. We need to clear space for 60 large dogs immediately.”

PACC has 1,538 animals in its care; more than 700 of those pets are at the shelter with 570 of those being dogs. On average, the shelter is taking in around 20 more pets than are getting out each day.

While dogs are the primary challenge, PACC does also have many adult cats needing foster for medical care. The lack of space is due to a variety of reasons including lost reports because of monsoon weather, dogs that prefer to be solo in the kennel, animals that are part of Animal Protection Services Investigations, and more.

People can help several ways:

• Adopt a medium- to large-sized dog.
• Foster a medium- to large-sized dog.
• Hang onto those friendly stray pets that show up in the neighborhood. They likely belong to one of your neighbors. People can knock on doors in the area and will likely find the owner within a matter of hours. If the finder needs supplies in order to hang onto the pet, PACC will provide those supplies free of charge. Pets that stay in the neighborhood where they are found have an 80% chance of making it back home. That rate drops to 20% if they come to the shelter.
• File a lost report immediately and upload a photo to lost.petcolove.org. Owners will be alerted when a dog matching theirs comes into PACC.
• Donate to Friends of Pima Animal Care Center at org.

PACC is also offering Reclaim Forgiveness for stray pets. However, each case will be treated on an individual basis. Reclaim Forgiveness for stray pets will be in place for the rest of August. To see if your pet is at the shelter, check the intake hourly, as it changes throughout the day.

“The majority of what’s coming into the shelter are large, stray dogs,” Dangler said. “If you find a stray and can hang onto it, you would be helping that dog and the dog that will likely take its place in a kennel at PACC.”

Due to volume of calls and urgency in the shelter, we are prioritizing live adoptions, so non-emergency calls might be delayed. For specific questions about pets at PACC, adoptions or fostering, people should stop by the shelter in person. For emergency related calls, people can call the dispatch line at (520) 724-5900 and press 4.

Pima Animal Care Center is open Monday to Friday, noon to 7 p.m., and 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. To see a list of available pets and services, head to pima.gov/animalcare.