TONOPAH, AZ — In the middle of the Arizona desert, residents say stray dogs are being dumped more frequently than before, with no food, no water, and no help.
Tammy Johnson has seen it firsthand. She's been monitoring social media for reports of animal dumping in the West Valley near Tonopah and also runs a small animal shelter to help when she can.
“We’re getting a lot of calls, sightings with packs of dogs, lost dogs, dumped dogs, stray dogs,” she said. “It's getting worse. You’re finding puppies in boxes. You’re seeing dogs being dumped off the highway as they’re driving.”
Tammy says her phone rings dozens of times a day with new reports from neighbors.
Tammy believes, in part, that hard economic times are contributing to the rise.
According to the pet care website Rover, it can cost up to $34,000 to raise a dog over 10 years, and those costs are rising. The site predicts a 7% increase in pet care expenses this year alone.
And while Arizona law considers animal abandonment a crime, Tammy says enforcement is inconsistent, especially in rural areas. Therefore, she feels the responsibility often falls on her and other residents to care for these animals until help arrives — if it does.
“We’re all overwhelmed,” she said. “You take in a dog, and now you have to hold it two to three days for county to pick up. And by then, you’ve already built a connection.”
The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office confirms animal dumping is a “fairly common” problem in remote parts of the county, as well as other rural regions around the country, and encourages residents to report any signs of neglect or abuse.
Jose Cruz, an officer with Maricopa County Animal Care and Control (MCACC), covers the entire Buckeye/Tonopah area by himself four days a week. He says he has also experienced the rise in calls.
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“It’s definitely increased since I’ve started working on the west side. I’ve noticed more and more,” Cruz said. “I run, on average, 15-20 calls a day. I’ll stay out as long as the county lets me to run calls.”
He says that because of the influx of reports, traffic, and the distance between MCACC and some of these remote locations, the dogs are often gone by the time he gets there.
He urges residents not to give up when their calls don’t get answered right away, especially if the dogs are still on site.
“Just keep calling,” he said. “We will get out there. We will find these dogs. It’s just… we can’t always be there instantly.”
The county confirms they’ve responded to multiple reports filed by Tammy and her team and says a new West Valley animal shelter is in the works. They hope a new shelter out west will cut response times and create more space for animals in need.
Tammy hopes it helps. But until then, she says the growing number of stray dogs is more than a nuisance; it’s becoming a real threat to the community.
“They’re losing their livestock. They’re losing their little dogs. They’re losing the animals they work hard for,” she said of her neighbors. “They’re the ones coming out to the nightmare.”
If you see signs of animal dumping, you’re urged to report it to Maricopa County Animal Care and Control. And if your call doesn’t go through, try again.
You can contact the Maricopa County Animal Care and Control (MCACC) at 602-506-PETS.
You can also report the situation online through the <b><i>Maricopa County website.</i></b>
To reach out to Tammy's rescue, go to their Facebook page <b><i>here.</i></b>
