No-fee dog adoptions at Pima Animal Care Center to help with over-crowding

Pima Animal Care Center is asking the public to consider fostering or adopting a dog, as the shelter is currently over capacity—housing 555 dogs in shelter as of Wednesday and putting them above capacity, according to spokesperson Kayleigh Murdock.

"We really need fosters and adopters for medium-to-large dogs," Murdock told KGUN 9. "We are in desperate need of people who can take on dogs even for just a couple of weeks to help us get that number down to a safer and more sustainable number of dogs in the shelter."

PACC is offering some incentives for people willing to lend a home—even a temporary one—to their shelter dogs:

• The $50 adoption fee is currently being waived for all dog and puppy adoptions, with a $20 licensing fee for adult dogs.
• Those who adopt a dog over 6 months old or fosters any dog will receive a $50 credit to PACC's pet store

Murdock says operating over-capacity results in what can sometimes be a dangerous situation for dogs by creating stressful situations with the potential for illnesses to spread.
"When we are this full, we see dogs unfortunately stay here longer," says Murdock. "We see dogs at higher risk of infectious disease just because so many animals are put in the facility together and are exposed to more disease, [have] weakened immune systems because of stress. It is a really, really stressful situation for these dogs and it's not something that we want for them long-term."

But even if a short-term foster care situation is all you can manage, Murdock says it's still a help to the shelter," Murdock says. "Of course, it also opens up the kennel for the next pet that comes into the shelter, so it really helps both that individual pet, and the pets in the shelter as a whole.

The shelter says, because of the high current population, that staff may soon consider euthanizing healthy dogs.

PACC is located at 4000 N. Silverbell Road. They are open to the public seven days a week:

• Mondays: Noon - 7 p.m.
• Tuesdays: Noon - 7 p.m.
• Wednesdays: 1:30 - 7 p.m.
• Thursdays: Noon - 7 p.m.
• Fridays: Noon - 7 p.m.
• Weekends: 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.

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