April 13, 2009

Pet Owners Urged to Drop Off Animals at AHS Shelter Rather Than Abandonment

Arizona Humane Society Emergency Animal Medical Technicians™ (EAMT™) responded to a record 591 cruelty investigation calls in Phoenix and Scottsdale, mostly due to abandonment, in March as the impact of the economic downturn continues to stretch the agency’s services and resources.

During that same period, AHS took in 373 stray animals.

"Last year, we received 7,991 calls about abandoned animals or welfare concerns from citizens across the Valley," said Executive Director Guy Collison.  "We’re seeing a steady increase in the number of animals that are abandoned as a result of the unfortunate economic situation that is causing people to walk away from their homes and their animals."

Collison said that in many abandonment situations, under current City of Phoenix ordinance, Arizona Humane Society EAMTs cannot remove the animals from private property at the time they are found.

"That would be considered theft," he said.  "The law requires that we make a good faith effort to find the owners through tax records and other research.  The average time for that process is eight days.  During that time, our technicians return to the homes every 24 hours to provide food and water to the animals until we can take them in."

Once the animals are removed from the property, they must be held at the AHS shelter for 17 days before they can be put up for adoption.

Collison said that an effort is underway to amend the current ordinance to reduce the amount of time between discovery of the abandoned animals and AHS' ability to remove them from the property.

"The City of Phoenix is working with us to make the change," Collison said.  "Once in place, that will expedite the process on our end and take some of the burden off our technicians in terms of the time they have to spend going back and forth to the homes."

He encouraged individuals contemplating abandoning their animals to consider dropping them off at the Society's Sunnyslope location at 9226 N. 13th Ave., Phoenix.  

The Arizona Humane Society asks for an optional donation of $35 for animals that are dropped off, but will never turn anyone away, Collison said.



About Arizona Humane Society
Founded in 1957, the Arizona Humane Society is the state’s largest nonprofit animal welfare and protection agency. The mission of AHS is to improve the lives of animals, alleviate their suffering, and elevate their status in society.

Contacts
Ashleigh Goebel, Public Information Officer, Arizona Humane Society
(602) 997-7586, ext. 1020; cell: (602) 359-7997
Steve Carr, The Kur Carr Group, Inc., (602) 317-3040 (cell)