Phase 1 of construction slated to open to the public this December

PIMA COUNTY – Construction work on Pima Animal Care Center’s new modern-care animal shelter has progressed significantly over the last several months reaching 70-percent completion. The new building, which is Phase 1 of construction, is scheduled to open to the public this December.

As of Sept. 12, Sundt contractors had completed most of the exterior work for the new building, including the framing, outer shell and most of the roofing. Next up will be the entry drive and parking areas. Meanwhile, inside the shelter, contractors have already started building walls for the various sections, including the new clinic and dog housing areas.

When finished, the new shelter will nearly double in size, measuring at about 60,000-square- feet with about 93-percent of this total area allocated to functions that directly house or support the housing, care, and adoption of pets at PACC.

“This new facility is going to be a game changer for PACC,” said Kristen Auerbach, PACC Director. “The community support and anticipation around the construction has been incredible. The new PACC was designed with the care of the pets in mind and we can’t wait to open the doors to Phase I in December.”

The shelter will have all the necessary features to ensure it meets modern day standards recommended for animal care facilities across the country. Features will include separation of species throughout the facility, adequately sized housing areas for dogs and cats, and improved natural light and ventilation in pet housing areas. In addition, the shelter will have 10 meet-and-greet areas where people can interact with pets and nine play yards for pets to unwind, among other exciting new features.

The new facility will also have an expanded veterinary clinic, indoor and outdoor dog housing, cat group housing areas, and other design features to safeguard the health of pets during their stay at PACC, from admission to adoption.

The elements incorporated into the design of PACC’s new shelter resulted from input received from two animal shelter design consultants, Animal Arts Design and UC Davis Koret Shelter Medicine Program, led by the local design firm Line and Space.

To stay updated with the latest project information, visit the PACC bond construction webpage, follow PACC’s Facebook page, and view PACC’s Flickr album, which documents the expansion of PACC’s new animal care campus from beginning to date.

National lifesaving expert committed to increasing County’s save rate for homeless pets

PIMA COUNTY –  Pima Animal Care Center has hired Kristen Auerbach, who currently serves as deputy chief animal services officer at Austin Animal Center in Austin, Texas, to serve as its department director. Auerbach, who is a nationally recognized expert on creative lifesaving solutions for municipal shelters like PACC, begins her new role July 10.

“We are excited that Ms. Auerbach has decided to join the PACC team and make Pima County her home,” said Dr. Francisco García, assistant county administrator for health services & chief medical officer. “She has the vision, passion, and leadership skills we need to take PACC to the next level of lifesaving and public service.”

Auerbach will join the team at a time when PACC is constructing its new campus, has become its own Pima County department, and is working to push up its save rate. Last year, PACC saved 90 percent of the pets who entered its shelter[1] and is actively working to increase its save rate for baby animals and big dogs.

In her current role at Austin Animal Center, which takes in 18,000 pets annually and is a municipal shelter like PACC, Auerbach has helped lead the organization to a save rate above 96 percent[2]. Prior to her work in Austin, Auerbach served as the assistant director of the Fairfax County Animal Shelter in Fairfax, Va., where she helped lead the efforts to overturn breed-specific adoption restrictions, double adoptions, and cut euthanasia in half. She is a nationally recognized expert on a variety of subjects including shelter intake reduction, innovative foster care, community-based animal welfare, and lifesaving social media. Her work has been featured in numerous national publications, websites, and news outlets.

In her previous two positions, Auerbach successfully reduced intake and increased live outcomes. In Austin, she brought intake down by more than 10% in just one year. In both Fairfax and Austin, she worked with the local field services officer teams to start and manage groundbreaking community programs like the Austin Pet Resource Center, return-in-field for stray pets, and free spay/neuter and microchip clinics for owned pets.

“I’m excited to join the team at Pima Animal Care Center, which is already well-known for leading the way in lifesaving animal services,” Auerbach said. “I can’t wait to build on the momentum of such a great organization and help save even more lives by engaging the community.”

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[1] Pima Animal Care Center’s save rate excludes pets who were surrendered to PACC for humane euthanasia as a low-cost public service, and who were ultimately euthanized.

[2] Austin Animal Center’s save rate does not exclude pets who were surrendered to the shelter for euthanasia.