August Pawsome Newsletter

Maricopa County, Arizona sent this bulletin at 09/01/2021 05:07 PM MST
August header

Hello Subscriber,

With a busy summer of thunderstorms and power outages, the financial impacts of COVID-19, and the growth of our population, our shelters are beyond full. We know we are not alone in this struggle. Shelters across the country are in crisis with overcrowding prompting a national call-to-action, #HelpOurShelters. Seasonally high intakes, short staffing, decreases in shelter veterinarians, and slowing adoptions are factors that are pushing animal shelters to beyond their intended capacity and are creating stresses on the system designed to care for abandoned and lost animals. MCACC is joining in this effort alongside national animal welfare organizations in support of the country’s municipal shelters to get the word out that adoption and fostering are especially critical at this moment.

At MCACC, we will continue with this call to action to the community and our partners to adopt, foster and help with getting lost pets home throughout the upcoming months. While we have had winning days in this effort throughout August, most days intakes outweigh our outcomes.

 

AUGUST 2021

Intakes
RTO

Our staff acknowledges every single win though, and we celebrate these together at our daily staff meetings. One recent example is Blitz and Fear, two pit bulls that were able to avoid being admitted into the shelter because they had microchips with current contact information. The pet parents arrived in time to meet the finders of their beloved dogs, who had been missing for over one year. Microchips do work to reunite families!

Speaking of wins, we consider it a big win during this tumultuous time to successfully onboard new employees and key staff. This past month we added 19 new staff, including hiring a supervisor and manager position. We also had four existing staff transfer into other roles within our organization such as shelter associates to animal control officers. Having these advancement opportunities is an advantage in our shelter with many diverse roles to fill throughout one’s career with us. We are always looking for enthusiastic staff to join our team. Check out our job board at:: governmentjobs.com/careers/maricopa

We know and appreciate that all departments at MCACC contribute to helping our shelter pets find their forever homes. Our Alternative Placement team focuses on helping place pets with partners and assisting with finding other outlets for pets besides adoption. Since January, over 1,964 pets have been placed thanks to this dedicated team and our partners. Learn more about this life-saving work in the video below and in our partner highlight.

The lovable animals in our facilities continue to need your help. If you think your family can offer a loving, stable home to a dog or cat, even to foster, then now is the time to act. This summer has been difficult, we are bursting at the seams with adoptable animals, and our limited space is full. Please help us out if you can; we appreciate the support of all our partners, friends, and community members.

With gratitude,

Robyn Jaynes, DVM
Director

Photos: Header, Kim Schulze Behavior Administrator with a recently adopted dog. Finders of Blitz and Fear on the left, owners on the right. 

IN SEARCH OF OUTLETS FOR PETS
Click on the image to view Alt Placement in action. 

Vimeo Alt Placement

Alternative Placement is an essential department at MCACC that helps finds other outlets for pets besides adoption - many of whom may become at-risk due to medical and or behavior issues. This helps open kennel space in the shelters and increases our capacity for care with our current population. For more information visit our website on how to help.

Christine

PARTNER HIGHLIGHT - TWO CHIHUAHUAS

Two Chihuahuas has been a vital partner in helping to save some of our hardest to place dogs. Since January 2021, Two Chihuahuas has moved 132 dogs into foster or other boarding facilities to receive more specialized care.

"We are a newer rescue here in Phoenix, opening our operations last summer in 2020. Despite our name, we save all breeds, and our niche has quickly become pulling animals in most critical need. We focus on those who fall through the cracks and aren’t adopted or rescued because of the intensive care they require - often including advanced diagnostics, specialized surgeries, behavioral training programs, and more. While they may require extensive funds and longer rehabilitation time, we strongly believe that they, too, deserve a second chance at life and the opportunity to ultimately find their perfect forever families. We are so thankful for our partnership with MCACC because we feel we share the same commitment to saving these precious lives. From their volunteers and staff to top management, we know they pour so much love into the hundreds of animals in their care. Together, we know we are making a difference in helping those animals in most critical need, and we also know we couldn’t do what we do without support from them and our entire community."

Christine Conroy
President/Founder

For more information and how you can help, visit w: TwoChihuahuasRescue.org
i: instagram.com/TwoChihuahuas f:facebook.com/TwoChihuahuasRescue

Photo: Christine with Beckham, a former critical need MCACC dog that has since been adopted while he was in care of Two Chihuahuas.
Bissell adoptions

LIFE-SAVING ADOPTION EVENTS

We were extremely grateful to have participated in the emergency six-day “Empty the Shelters” event supported by The BISSELL Pet Foundation. Throughout the week we placed 15 cats and 229 dogs into families!

“With shelters struggling with overcrowding across the country, the adoptions through this emergency ‘Empty the Shelter’ have opened up space to help another 1,805 pets in need,” said Cathy Bissell, founder of BISSELL Pet Foundation. “We thank our partner shelters for the incredible work they did to help these pets find families, and of course a heartfelt thank you to all of the people who chose adoption and gave these pets a second chance at life.”

One adopter wrote, “We brought home a sweet girl today who had been returned to the shelter twice. We won’t be returning her this time! She fits our family like a glove and is just perfect in our little menagerie. Thank you MCACC and BPF for making this possible.”

Our current adoption event is NBC / Telemundo Clear the Shelters, with all shelter pets available at only $25. This Includes licensing fee, spay/neuter, microchip, and vaccinations. For more information on the adoption process and to view available pets visit our website.

Pet help

PET HELP COMMUNITY OUTREACH

This month our Pet Help program partnered with Mobile Animal Surgical Hospital (MASH) and Dr. Kelly's mobile vet for two spay and neuter clinics, both sponsored by Fix.Adopt.Save.

In total, 59 pets were altered, and 57 pets microchipped. All pets went home with personalized collars and name tags thanks to our partnership with One Love Pit Bull Foundation and their Tag Me Home program. For more information on our Pet Help program, contact our Outreach Coordinator at ACCPetHelp@maricopa.gov or leave a message at 602-506-2256 or text 602-526-0320 for more information.

Most low-cost spay/neuter and vaccination clinics offer affordable microchipping, which can make all the difference in whether your pet is able to be reunited with your family! A Maricopa County dog license is another great step you can take towards protecting your furry family member in case they ever get lost. Learn more and license your pup by visiting our website.

DESERT DOGS IN NEED OF HOMES

Desert Dogs is a new monthly collaborative effort between MCACC and three volunteers who are associated with the Arizona Coyotes to help feature and promote MCACC long-timers. A special thanks to our MCACC volunteer dog walkers Wendy G. and Kirsten L. for helping with the video shoot and to Matt McConnell, Craig Morgan, and videographer Greg Dunaway!

These long-timers are still available for adoption and have been in the shelter over 120 days.

Click on the images to view videos of these fabulous dogs interacting with Craig and Matt. 

Max

Max (#A3809951) At around six years old, this handsome guy is at a great age to adopt. Max is a definite cuddler and is essentially a 70lb lapdog who adores spending time with you and just wants to soak up as much love as possible to make up for lost time. We think Max may do well with kids as young as twelve in his new home. He may also be open to having other dogs in the family, if you'll take the time to properly introduce them at home.

Penny (#A3569449) knows you're only as old as you feel - and she still feels like a spunky young pup! She enjoys going for walks playing fetch with tennis balls, and splashing around in kiddie pools to cool off! We suspect she's already housetrained because she prefers to use the restroom outside. She's very affectionate and will occasionally even try out her plus-size lap dog skills because she loves to cuddle so much.

 Penny
CM

Chunky Monkey (#A4066774) is very playful and affectionate with his familiar friends! This handsome youngster is somewhat a of a hidden gem: he's only around three years old, has already had some training, was house trained in his previous home, and is a wonderful balance of playful and cuddly! Out in the play yard, he loves to run zoomies and play, show off his "sit" for treats, or just hang out.

This gorgeous girl is Stella (#A4566341), a super fun girl who's still just a pup at only about one and a half years old, so she can't wait to bust out of the shelter and into a real home! As you can probably imagine from her young age, Stella is very energetic and playful, and would love to be part of an active family. We think Stella may do well with children as young as twelve, but she would like to be the only pet in her family.

 Stella
Fran

Say hello to our pretty pink-nosed girl, Francine (#A4568941)! Only about two years old, this little lady is a very playful and friendly girl who  loves to show off her "sit" in exchange for treats She has a love of water, and enjoys the kiddie pools and playing with toys too. We think she may do well with kids as young as twelve in her new family! She has not been comfortable interacting with other dogs, so she would like to be the only pup in her new home.

Sometimes we like to think of Gideon (#A4568707) as a giant puppy - he's playful, friendly, energetic, and about 80lbs worth of fun!  This big guy has such a zest and joy about him that's so easy to appreciate, and he adores hanging out with you and getting attention Gideon may enjoy having some kids in his new family if properly introduced and supervised. He does prefer people more than other dogs, and would like to be the only dog in his home at this time. 

 Gideon

Visit our website to find more information about the above dogs (and other available shelter pets!) and reserve an adoption appointment to meet your new best friend. All pets are spayed/neutered, microchipped, vaccinated, and ready to go home with you as soon as today!!

ZuZu

ZUZU MOVES TO NEW HAMPSHIRE

“My journey to finding ZuZu actually began about 17 years ago, when I was living in Mesa and was visiting South Mountain. That’s where I met my dog of 16 years (aptly named Mesa). She was a super dog, sassy and independent, burnt orange, and my best friend. When my husband and I had to say goodbye to her this year, I was completely shattered and heartbroken. I never dreamed about having another dog. In the weeks that followed, my husband was scrolling through the adoptable animals on the Maricopa County Shelter website, when we saw a face that was so familiar and warm to us. It was ZuZu! With no time to waste, my nephew and I caught the next flight to Phoenix to meet her and take her home. Over the next five days, we drove across the country back to New Hampshire, where my husband welcomed us home with open arms. ZuZu has been an absolute love. She’s sweet, cuddly, charming, and sometimes perfectly goofy. We are so happy to be able to fill her life with love, and were so grateful to the staff at the Maricopa County Animal Shelter. They really do amazing work for so many animals and families! Thank you for all that you do.”

Lauren, Barry, and ZuZu

Needs 2

MANY DOGS = MANY NEEDS

With so many dogs in our shelter, we're running extremely low on some supplies.

One of our greatest need is for newspaper for keeping the indoor kennels clean. We can only use newsprint newspaper (no ads, please, they're less absorbent). If you have any extra newspapers sitting around, this is a good chance to clear up the clutter and help shelter animals at the same time!

We are also in need of hot dogs. We slice them into bite-sized pieces to provide positive reinforcement for good behaviors, distract dogs from unwanted behaviors, brighten up the day of sad or injured dogs, and are used in all departments. Donations can be dropped off at either shelter location during business hours. See our locations below.

All of our shelter dogs that are adopted or fostered leave with a collar and license. We are in need of med/large size collars and through our partnership with Lost Dogs Arizona, supporting their monthly fundraiser results in MCACC receiving the thousands of collars we need. 

Other great ways to help our shelter pets is by purchasing items on our Amazon Wish List or making a recurring donation. Visit our website for for information. We are grateful for all your support!

Upcoming Events and Holiday Hours

Click each event to view details.
CLS

Aug 23-Sept 19
NBC/Telemundo Clear the Shelters
Petco

Sept 11
Petco Mobile Adoptions
Adopt

Oct 4-10 
Sponsored Adoption Event
More info soon!