MCACC Pawsome Newsletter

Final header

Hello Subscriber,

All of us at MCACC wish you a very Happy New Year and we are looking forward to a hopeful and healthy 2021. In looking back on this past year, MCACC persevered through many changes while navigating the new terrain of the pandemic.

A few highlights from 2020…

New leadership members joined our pack with expertise in their respective subject areas.

Our Volunteer, Foster and New Hope Programs were revamped, increasing efficiency, transparency and accountability.

Targeted improvement projects for the safety and the well-being of our staff and pets were
realized throughout our shelter.

Adoptions, clinic, business office and field services were adjusted and continued to operate with the focus on supporting and ensuring the safety of pets and the residents of Maricopa County.

A key part to improving our services is also taking care of our staff. Following an independent wage and market compensation study, MCACC increased the starting salary for shelter associates, enforcement officers and animal health technician team members. This increase also afforded an equitable pay adjustment for our experienced staff in these important roles. By raising compensation to a more competitive level, we are able to recognize and retain committed staff while improve our recruitment efforts to onboard future talent. Only with the right number of highly trained, dedicated staff will we be able to move MCACC to the next level in operational performance.

We know that we can’t do our work alone. This past month we had many organizations and individuals provide generous gifts to the pets and the shelter. I want to express our gratitude and appreciation to all our supporters, donors, volunteers and partners that continue to help us and the shelter pets in our care, in so many ways.

With gratitude,

Robyn Jaynes, DVM
Director


2020 Statistics 

Although overall intake for the year was lower than expected due to COVID-19, MCACC still saw almost 18,000 pets pass through our doors.

Stats 2020

Pet Housing

Supporting pets and people during Covid-19

Pets are family, and MCACC is committed to helping both our four- and two-legged friends who have been impacted by COVID-19. We have partnered with the top animal welfare organizations in the Valley to provide information, resources and a community rehoming/temporary foster network for struggling pet owners impacted by the COVID-19 housing crisis. Visit Pet Housing Help AZ for more information. 


Partner Highlights

We consider ourselves very fortunate to have a new transfer partner. Hannah the Pet Society drove over 19 hours one way to pick up selected adult dogs. With a short supply of the larger terrier and bully breeds in Oregon, this partnership just made sense for both organizations. Originally slated to transport 12 dogs, Hannah had room for a few more and ended up with a total of 16 dogs who went on their way to find new homes in Oregon!

Hannah

One long standing partner of MCACC’s has been the Verde Valley Humane Society. In 2020, Verde Valley helped place over 270 pets in the Cottonwood and Sedona areas. Director Tacy Pastor states, "Our partnership with MCACC is a tremendous benefit to the Verde Valley community. We are able to transfer in pets from a shelter that may become overcrowded at times, giving dogs and cats the advantage of adoption in a smaller community that normally does not see a large variety of companion pets. The MCACC staff is incredible to work with and knowledgeable in the type of pets we are able to accept."

A big thank you to VVHS for their dedication and commitment to supporting the mission of MCACC!


Pavers and Shade

Shelter Improvements

We are excited that we have made some progress on impactful and significant changes to our facilities. For staff safety of entering and exiting dogs, ease of cleaning and proper drainage, the gravel sections behind our main kennel buildings were replaced with beautiful pavers.

A large majority of our work is done outside with our shelter dogs. An impressive shade structure installation project began on our west facing outdoor area which will provide shade for customers, staff and volunteers when walking around our care center – as well as give the dogs cooler surfaces to walk on when moving from kennels to play areas, exercising, and heading inside to complete their adoptions.

Due to social distancing guidelines, we have taken the opportunity to improve and enhance our customer facing areas. We began with an interior painting project and we will be installing and implementing a number queuing system to better serve the public in our business and adoption lobbies.

Photos: Shade structure steal beams. Shelter Associate walking Johnny on the new pavers.   


Asteroid Square

Happy Tail Ending

Our Lost and Found department are our silent superheroes, helping the public in Maricopa County and beyond with finding their lost pets daily. Once such pet is adorable Asteroid, who was accidently lost when his family was traveling through the Valley to San Diego. His mischievous behavior allowed him to escape out of the car while the family was stopped at a local park. The young daughter was devastated, and the family immediately started searching and notified MCACC to generate a lost report. Unfortunately, the family wasn’t able to locate him and they had to continue on their way home, leaving lost Asteroid behind.

A few days later, a resident who lives near the park, found Asteroid. He had climbed in a window at his apartment and he has been caring for the cat. Our Lost and Found staff was able to connect the finder with the owner who drove back from San Diego to collect their kitty. The young daughter was crying with joy and relief when told by our staff that Asteroid was alive and well. We are thankful for the dedicated work of our shelter staff and the kind person who helped take care of Asteroid until he could be reunited with his family. Learn more about MCACC's Lost and Found department.


OLP

Special Holiday Deliveries

The One Love Pit Bull Foundation collected stuffed toys and special Christmas-inspired pet foods in order to provide a little holiday celebration for all the dogs and cats who were still waiting for their forever homes. A few days before Christmas, volunteers came to the shelter to fill Kongs, then gave a stuffed Kong and a brand new stuffy to each and every dog. They also prepared lick mats so that all our cats could have a special snack too. 

Darth

For the past six years, the Santa Paws Project has been providing our shelter pets with amazing donations - and this year was no exception! We received many boxes filled with toys, treats, and specialty items for our shelter pets. Darth, one of our dogs featured in our Twelve Dogs of Christmas, was thrilled to enjoy a new toy from one of the boxes! 

 

 

CCP

Community Canine Project also made a lot of
tail-wagging happen with their enrichment and toy donations. A few deliveries over the month of December provided hundreds of long-lasting chew treats and stuffy toys.

Thank you to all our donors for helping support the mental health and happiness of our shelter pets while they wait to find their forever homes! 

 


Bissell Adoption

Holiday Happenings  

It was a busy December with many events happening at MCACC. Despite this year’s challenges, BISSELL Pet Foundation (BPF) remained vigilant in helping MCACC find loving homes for our shelter pets. On December 9-13, we hosted the BPF Empty the Shelters – Holiday Hope event. Over the five days, 98 dogs and 15 cats were adopted through this sponsorship! As always, all adoptable pets available during this promotion are required to be microchipped and spayed/neutered to prevent further pet homelessness.

This marks BPF’s seventh Empty the Shelters event in 2020 alone. Since the program’s inception in 2016, BPF has helped 40,550 shelter pets find forever homes. MCACC’s partnership with BPF continues to help support our community efforts in reducing the length of stay for pets at our shelter and placing them in their forever home.

Photo: Kim Carrillo

 

12 Dogs of Christmas

In addition, our Home for the Holidays Adoption promotion special featured 26 dogs that found a home in time for the holidays. We also highlighted some of our long-timers with the 12 Dogs of Christmas. Six out of those 12 featured dogs, many who had been with us for over 90 days, are now in their new homes. We can’t forget about the kitties in our care, our Mew Years promotion helped six adult cats to find a home in time for the start of 2021!


Upcoming Events and Holiday Hours

Click each event to view details.

Petco

Jan 9 
Mobile Adoption at Petco

Change

Jan 15 -17 Change a Pet's Life

Wag N Walk

Feb 6
Wag N' Walk