By admin TUCSON, Ariz. (13 News) – More than 100 animals were recently rescued from one Tucson home in a hoarding case, and the Pima Animal Care Center said there will be more.
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The shelter is now tracking more than 50 potential hoarding properties throughout Pima County.
PACC Director Steve Kozachik said the recent rescue was not on that list, but the case required quick action.
“They were being kept in crates; they were living in their own feces; they were dying on the property,” Kozachik said.
Tracking potential cases
The list of more than 50 potential hoarding properties is managed by PACC’s Animal Protection Services unit.
“We get reports from people all the time, generally neighbors, who say there’s something sketchy going on at my neighbor’s house, or you know, there’s a weird smell going on; can you come out and investigate?” Kozachik said.
Investigators assess the home and the animals’ living conditions, then make a plan to contact the homeowners. Kozachik said sometimes people know there’s a problem and are open to accepting help. Other times, warrants are needed for PACC to rescue the animals.
“The ultimate goal is not to punish people if things simply get out of control, but to get the animals the care that they need and they deserve,” Kozachik said.
New facility helps with capacity
Animals rescued from hoarding situations are taken to the Animal Restoration Kennels, a new PACC facility that opened in February.
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The ARK facility can hold 100 animals at a time, which Kozachik said helps with overcrowding at the main facility on Silverbell Road.
While PACC continues to face space issues, Kozachik said the ARK facility will open up enough kennels to pursue more hoarding cases and help reduce the list.
“For historically, for PACC management to have told them, pretend it doesn’t exist, then why am I doing the job, right? So now we have the ARK, and we do have the capacity, shelter capacity to go out and start addressing the hoards when we’re made aware of them,” Kozachik said.
“If we didn’t have the ARK, we would not have brought those 99 in; they’d have been dying on the property,” he said.
Kozachik said the best way to help PACC overcrowding is to adopt or foster the animals they currently have.
How to Help
- Adopt: PACC needs adopters for medium to large dogs, anything that weighs 30 pounds or more. The majority of PACC’s census falls into this category.
- Foster: Even if it’s just for two weeks, fostering for any length of time can help free up much- needed space at the shelter.
- Donate: For people who cannot adopt or foster, donations to PACC’s nonprofit partner, Friends of Pima Animal Care Center, can go a long way. Make a donation via the FOP webpage or purchase items from their Wish Lists.
- Check your dog’s tags: Most of the pets coming into PACC are found as strays. Help keep your pet safe and out of the shelter by making sure their collar has a tag with up-to-date contact information. FREE tags are available every day at PACC.
How to Adopt
- All dogs at PACC currently have no adoption fees. Adopters only need to pay a $20 licensing fee to adopt a dog.
Hours of Operation
- Noon to 6:30 p.m. Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays
- 1:30 p.m.-6:30 p.m. Wednesdays
- 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays – 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
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