Story and photos by Monica Dangler, Interim Director
It’s been quite a year and it seems like we may be seeing the light at the end of the tunnel for COVID-19! Fingers crossed. However, at PACC and shelters across the country we are just beginning to see the long-term effects COVID is having on our community’s pets. PACC has seen an increase in animals coming into the shelter, as well as people reaching out for help to keep their pets after they suffered a loss or reduction in income, loss of home, or lack of affordable vet care.
After an already tough and busy year helping people in crisis due to the pandemic, we are seeing an even bigger need within our community to help keep pets with the people who love them. We can do it with our community’s support! We’ve all probably found ourselves in a tough spot where we could have used some help from kind-hearted folks like you.
There are five ways that you can help today!
DONATE: Please consider making a donation to Friends of PACC (www.friendsofpacc.org/) so that we can continue to help families in need through the Friends of PACC Keeping Families Together fund (KFT fund). This program is fully funded through donations (meaning none of it comes from PACC’s operational budget). The KFT fund can help with non-emergency medical care, pet deposits, temporary foster placement, and more. There are some limitations, such as expensive procedures or surgery, emergency medical care, on-going needs like cancer or Valley Fever treatments, and needs above a one-time $500 amount (this fluctuates as funding is exhausted).
PREPARE YOUR PETS: Register your pets now at
lost.petcolove.org just in case your pet becomes lost. This site uses pet facial recognition to notify you if your pet enters a shelter and helps get them reunited quicker! You can also help by spreading the word on social media to your friends, family, and neighbors who have lost or found a pet. Keep an eye on our accounts to see when the next pet microchip event is being held. Microchips are the quickest way to get your pets back home!
KITTENS: Leave kittens with their mothers. We see many folks with good intentions who will accidentally kidnap kittens because they think they have been abandoned. Mother cats will leave their kittens for long periods of time – potentially several hours — to get food and water. It’s a sad truth, but kittens without their mom have a much lower chance of survival. Visit
pima.gov/animalcare to learn more about how to know when to bring kittens to the shelter.
VACCINATE YOUR PETS: This way they don’t catch a deadly illness like Parvovirus, Distemper, Panleukopenia, Calicivirus, or Rabies. PACC has been seeing an influx of pets coming in with these preventable diseases or after being exposed to wildlife. No Kill Pima County has a great list of resources here:
www.nokillpimacounty.org/pet-owner-resources/
SPAY OR NEUTER YOUR PETS: This keeps them from developing some potentially very serious side effects later in life and helps us reduce the number of kittens and puppies coming into the shelter. For help getting your pets spayed or neutered, again, No Kill Pima County has a great list of locations:
www.nokillpimacounty.org/pet-owner-resources/
In conclusion, there are a variety of ways that YOU can help the shelter. In addition to the list above, we always need fosters and volunteers as well, especially right now as the intake rises daily.
Thank you, Tucson, for everything you do make Pima County a better place for people and their pets. We couldn’t do it without you!
