Pima County Animal Shelter recent changes open door to support
Leslie Rocco
SaddleBrooke’s county animal shelter needs help and the Network wants to offer support, but our commitment has been limited in the past for several important reasons. Having spoken with the Pinal shelter director Audra Michael, we confirmed their biggest needs are an on-site veterinarian and volunteers.
Financial Donations
The shelter’s budget is part of the county’s general budget, so monetary donations are comingled with general funds and not guaranteed to reach animals in need. The same was true with the Pima County shelter so until Friends of PACC (a non-profit group who grants resources to the shelter) was formed, the Network offered no direct financial support because we couldn’t ensure use of funds for our donors. At this writing, Pinal’s shelter does not yet have a non-profit group to offer conduit support directly to the pets.
Volunteer Commitment
Casa Grande is a three-hour roundtrip drive, not including time at the shelter. To date, we’ve found no one willing to make a long-term commitment for such an effort. Wags & Walkers, a devoted group of SaddleBrooke volunteers at PACC, have made the two-hour round trip weekly to PACC for almost 13 years. It’s immensely time consuming and expensive. Finding volunteers to drive even further has not been successful, but if you are interested in helping please contact us.
Yet, through the Network our community has supported Pinal County’s homeless pets in meaningful ways:
1. Most notably, we support rescue groups like Lifeline Oro Valley, Cherished Tails and Tucson Cold Wet Noses who pull at risk pets from Pinal. Donations are made directly to vets and through the Payoff Vet Debt campaign.
2. In April, we learned of a need for kennel beds and made a $500 donation for the direct purchase of Kuranda beds.
3. We have donated used linens/pet supplies when we had transport.
4. Pinal County participated in a Network adoption event.
The Exciting News
A woman with a passion for pet rescue formed Passion 4 Paws to support Pinal’s animal shelter, having seen the great need and a big opportunity for impact. Their non-profit status is pending and she travels weekly to the shelter from Vale to assess dogs, take photos and transport dogs to fosters. The Network is talking with her about ways we can partner in the future. Follow Passion4Paws-Southern Arizona on Facebook. We’ll update you as we get more details.
Mera Laureys from SaddleBrooke has agreed to act as the Network’s Pinal shelter liaison to facilitate support in three areas: communication, volunteering and fundraising/support. We look forward to expanding our support at Pinal County’s animal shelter, but we take seriously our responsibility to ensure the effective use of your donations. If you have questions or are interested to help with fundraising or volunteering at Pinal’s shelter, contact Leslie at 724-689-9843.