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Nearly 1,000 pets clog Maricopa County shelters after mix of fireworks, storms

Nearly 1,000 pets clog Maricopa County shelters
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They're coming in way faster than they're going out. Close to 250 lost and stray animals ended up at Maricopa County shelters after the Fourth of July. That's 250 on top of the animals already there. That was bad enough. Then came monsoon storms.

"Within the three day period we got another 300 animals into the shelter," said Maricopa County Animal Care and Control spokesperson Jose Santiago. "We can only attribute that to animals being spooked from the storms." 

July 4 is a day that many look forward to. It's a day of relaxing or outdoor fun with family.   

For a shelter worker, it means stress. MCACC workers haven't been able to catch a break with this one-two punch.  

"Our folks are literally working around the clock," Santiago said. "They are trying to keep up with the demand of not only feeding and giving water, but they are trying to clean up after all of these animals."

How dire is the need? To put the numbers into perspective: 

  • The west shelter holds 350 animals. It has almost 600.
  • The east shelter holds 250 animals. It has a little less than 400.

In some instances, they've had to put 3 or 4 animals into a kennel. 

Santiago said they are in need of food, puppy pads, and newspaper. But the real need is to clear out the kennels.

If you can't adopt or make it into one of the locations to drop off supplies, you can always donate money.
 

EAST LOCATION
2630 W. Rio Salado Pkwy
Mesa, AZ 85201

WEST LOCATION
2500 S. 27th Ave
Phoenix, AZ 85009