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About Us

People love pets. They're cute, cuddly and fun! But having a pet involves much more than just love. There's a huge commitment involved; pets need food and water, medical care and lots of attention. Unfortunately, with all of these responsibilities, many people find that they are in over their heads. The result is a large number of unwanted pets. That's where MCACC comes in. We take in more than 46,000 dogs and cats in Maricopa County need us each year! MCACC strives to take care of animals and to be proactive and offer programs to prevent problems before they occur. For example, Maricopa County’s Spay/Neuter Assistance Program (SNAP) helps reduce the unwanted pet population through the spaying and neutering of cats and dogs.

MCACC is an open-admission animal shelter. As such, we took in more than 46,000 dogs and cats last year. Some may be ill or injured. Others may have behavioral issues or be aggressive. We receive pets from people who can no longer care for them, and pets that are no longer wanted. We receive many perfectly healthy dogs and cats that just need a new home.

We believe it is not the animals fault for being at the shelter. We want every healthy, treatable and manageable animal to get a second chance at love. We are doing that in a variety of ways.

We do not have a ‘euthanasia date’ for the dogs and cats in our care. As long as they maintain general good health, a sound temperament, and we have space, we’ll keep them for weeks, sometimes months. Sick animals are moved into isolation or will be placed in temporary foster care to get well enough to be adopted. Animals that have some behavior problems or are not doing well in the shelter may go to foster care for awhile as well. We also work very hard with our rescue partners, who take animals from us to work with, and find them homes. We do everything we can to avoid euthanizing healthy, treatable, or manageable animals.

But it is a never-ending problem as more keep coming – an average of 150 every day – and space is limited. Unfortunately, we do humanely euthanize many dogs and cats. Animals that are sick or injured, have been at the shelter too long and deteriorate, and ones that are overlooked by new families and our rescue groups for behavior issues, are at risk of being put down. Aggressive animals that are determined to be a potential threat to the community are also euthanized.

MCACC’s goal is to save the lives of all healthy, treatable and manageable dogs and cats in our community. To reach that goal, we work with our local animal welfare partners in Alliance for Companion Animals and the Maricopa County Maddie’s Project. We are fortunate to have the support of Friends (Friends of Animal Care and Control), fundraising on our behalf.

How are we going to reach our goal of saving all healthy, treatable, and manageable dogs and cats? We are:

• Increasing low and no-cost spaying and neutering throughout the community to reduce shelter intake (click here to go to SN)
• Increasing adoptions by bringing more people to our shelters and taking animals to locations in the community (click here to go to adoptions)
• Reducing euthanasia by increasing rescue partnerships and foster families (Click here to go to foster)
• Increasing number of animals protected against rabies with free vaccination clinics (click here to go to calendar)
• Encouraging responsible pet ownership through expanded public awareness and humane education (will also decrease shelter intake)
• Bringing necessary services directly to vulnerable neighborhoods with our Uno por Uno program (click here to learn about UpU)

• Learn more by reading our publications (click here to go to education)
• Subscribe to our online newsletter, Trailin’ Tails (click here)
• Volunteer (click here to go to volunteer)
• Donate to help the animals in our care. Many of our programs rely on donations to help us save more pets. If you would like to help, click here to make a secure on-line donation