PACC continues to euthanize during the busiest time of year for dogs to be surrendered

TUCSON, Ariz. (13 News) – The Pima Animal Care Center has been telling residents for months that it is beyond critical capacity with dogs in the shelter and that the worst case scenario is starting to become a reality.

This week, 11 dogs are on the euthanasia list, three of those dogs with deadlines of months.

There are 541 dogs in the shelter, and more dogs come in every day.

“We are getting more dogs through our doors than ever before and we have fewer people who are willing to adopt or foster, especially a large dog,” said Katie Hutchinson, PACC foster manager.

PACC said this is the busiest time of year for them to take in more dogs, and with a few extra hot months extending the mating season, there were more puppies than usual — putting more dogs on the list.

13 News spoke with a concerned citizen who wished to remain anonymous, who said communication about deadlines for these dogs on the euthanasia list has been less than ideal … most recently, they had concerns with look at a dog named Oswald.

“Questions were raised yesterday about whether Oswald was euthanized, whether he was allowed some extra time, an extra day,” the citizen said.

Unfortunately, Oswald was euthanized in the morning, which community members attribute to this lack of communication over the weekend.

“If only everyone could have better communication and trust,” said the citizen. “It’s a highly volatile situation, meaning when there’s a life at stake at all levels.”

PACC said for those interested in rescuing a dog, especially on weekends, while social media is a good start, promptness is everything.

“Sometimes people try to reach out or call, but when a dog is on deadline, the best thing you can do is get off,” Hutchinson said. “An hour can make a difference to a dog.”

They also said that greater community involvement could be the difference between life and death.

“One of the biggest things about PACC is, once we put our census deadlines in place,” Hutchinson said, “if our community comes together and reduces the capacity back to 450 dogs, we’ll eliminate all those census deadlines at that time. .”

Dogs on the emergency foster list do not have to be adopted but can also be fostered. You can find the full list of dogs on the emergency placement list HERE.

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