Pima Animal Care Center: Petfinder 20th Anniversary Grant Report
How did this grant help your organization and the pets in your care?
Your generous $10,000 grant to our nonprofit partner, the Friends of Pima Animal Care Center, helped underwrite the costs of medical treatment when our shelter experienced dual outbreaks of canine distempervirus (distemper) and Streptococcus equi zooepidemicus (Strep zoo). These are highly contagious conditions, and our organization could have euthanized every single dog in our care in order to eradicate the threat. But with the Petfinder Foundation’s support, our medical team did the exact opposite: They launched an intensive attempt to save every sick dog and prevent all the others from becoming ill. In the case of sick dogs, this required weeks of intensive medical treatment and multiple costly tests. All of our healthy dogs were also prophylactically treated with antibiotics, and many were tested, at a very high cost.
This response was something our county shelter could never have undertaken in past years. Thanks to your very generous grant and additional support we received from our community, we were able to save the lives of hundreds of dogs!
As Pima County, Arizona's only open-admission shelter, we take in all pets, regardless of their age, temperament or health. Most of the pets we take in are under-vaccinated, and our 60-year-old shelter was not built to prevent the spread of illness. Our team works exceptionally hard to keep our pets healthy, but at times, these factors cause illness outbreaks to occur. The outbreak last year was one of the most devastating threats we have ever experienced, and it was a herculean task on the part of our team to try and save all these dogs. Our staff and volunteers, who love our dogs, were very scared.
The path we took was expensive – but it was lifesaving, and it was absolutely the right thing to do. Your investment in our response helped us to not only save hundreds of dogs, it helped to show our community that the Petfinder Foundation stands behind the lifesaving direction we took. Thank you for believing in our mission and supporting our efforts to be a progressive county shelter!
How many pets did this grant help?
Hundreds of dogs; thank you so much!
Please provide a story of one or more specific pets this grant helped.
Sweet little Hunter, a 2-year-old Chihuahua mix (first photo), came to us after his owner died and his family couldn’t find a new home for him. He was suffering from alopecia, or hair loss, around both eyes due to allergies. He became ill with Strep zoo, and after three weeks of diligent treatment, he had beat the illness. He was adopted in short order to a home with a rat terrier sister.
One of our field services officers rescued 3-year-old Merlin (second photo) from the streets, where he and his “girlfriend” had been roaming as strays. The pair were brought back to our shelter so they could be altered and adopted. During his stay, though, Merlin became ill with Strep zoo. After three weeks of careful treatment and monitoring, he beat the illness, and he quickly found a home!
The odds were stacked against 5-year-old Adam (third photo), who was suffering from valley fever when he was brought to us as a stray. This is a treatable condition that’s common in Tucson, but it requires medication and bloodwork, which can turn many adopters away. To further complicate matters, Adam became ill with Strep zoo, but after two weeks of treatment, he beat the illness. He found his home with John and Yolanda (fourth photo), who promised not only to always care for condition, but provide him with new friends in their two doting grandchildren, too!
