Maricopa County Animal Care and Control is opening a new shelter in Mesa
Kim Powell, MCACC Communications Supervisor, talks about the county’s newest animal shelter serving Mesa.
The only thing connecting Armando, a four-year-old Labrador mix, to his previous owners was a handwritten note explaining why they chose to abandon him.
He was found tied next to the note on a post at the Arizona Humane Society’s Sunnyslope campus.
Although the story is heartbreaking, it is not unusual. It’s a reflection of Maricopa County’s animal welfare crisis.
According to the Arizona Humane Society, the crisis has reached an all-time high. Their shelters cared for more than 22,000 sick, injured and abused pets in 2024, the most in a decade.
Population growth, rising home prices, evictions and a shortage of affordable pet care have forced more and more pet owners in the community to rehome a pet. Because shelters are full, healthy pets that need to be rehomed due to a change in housing or job loss have nowhere to go, which has led to an increase in abandoned pets, according to AHS.
To help with high intake levels, the AHS is urging the community to adopt from local shelters rather than purchasing a pet from a breeder or pet store, as shelters are full of pets waiting for a second chance.
Armando, who was deemed healthy after treatment for an ear infection, is now one of the dogs waiting for his forever home at the shelter’s Rob & Melani Walton Papago Park Campus.
As part of AHS’s “Big Dog Adoption Special” for dogs 50 pounds and over, Armando charges a $0 adoption fee. To learn more about Armando or any of the nearly 200 pets looking for a forever home for the holidays, visit azhumane.org/adopt.
Pet owners in need of resources to keep their pets are encouraged to visit azhumane.org/resources.