Maricopa County reserving $27 million for new Mesa animal shelter
ABC15
and last updated 2021-05-21 12:48:07-04
MESA, AZ â Maricopa County is reserving millions of dollars for a new animal control facility in the city of Mesa.
Currently, Maricopa County Animal Care and Control has two shelter locations the East Valley shelter near Loop 101 and Rio Salado Parkway in Mesa and the West Valley shelter near 27th Avenue and Durango Street in Phoenix.
As part of the fiscal year 2022 budget, Maricopa County will provide $27 million to build a new facility on county-owned land near Baseline Road and Lewis Drive in Mesa, replacing the current East Valley shelter.
Maricopa County sees influx of dogs at shelter
The Maricopa County Animal Care and Control says they ve seen a high number of people returning pets and the shelter is now at full capacity.
and last updated 2021-05-18 15:00:15-04
PHOENIX â Maricopa County Animal Care and Control says theyâve received an influx of dogs over the past month.
A spokeswoman for MCACC, Monica Gery, says they re averaging about 50 to 60 animals coming into the shelter every day. Thatâs about half the number they received daily in 2020. She says numbers haven t been that high since before the pandemic.
Gery says theyâve seen a spike in people finding stray animals, along with owners surrendering their pets.
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Pets need yearly vaccinations and routine check-ups. It s information Michele Soto wishes she had as a kid. There was a lack of information and support related to pet care that was suitable for her community, she said.
When she got older, she began working in animal welfare, but something was missing from the perspective of groups she interacted with: the human connection. Much of what she heard was solely focused on animals, didn t consider the needs of their owners and gave the impression that not knowing about pet care was not OK, she said.
Soto, the operations manager at the Arizona Pet Project, wants to change that. The nonprofit is slated to open its first resource center later this month in south Phoenix. The Arizona Pet Project emphasizes the connection between humans and animals and provides services to both people and their pets to keep them together despite hardship.