COCHISE COUNTY, Ariz. (KGUN) — Cochise County has never had a county animal shelter, forcing local cities to house animals found roaming the streets. But 2026 may be the year this rural Arizona county finally gets its own facility.
The Nancy J. Brua Animal Care Center in Sierra Vista has been at capacity for dogs for over a year, like most shelters in Cochise County.
"It's not something that we're going to escape. As the community is growing, our facility has grown, the more animals that we're taking in," said Brittany Schultz, an animal control officer for Sierra Vista.
This leaves animals found outside city limits with no place to go.
"That creates a big back flow for us, where the fact is, what do we do with them?" said Mark Dannels, Cochise County Sheriff.
The situation has become so dire that sheriff's deputies often take animals home when they can't find shelter space.
"If we have our hands on an animal, it means that animal is in distress. We have to find a place for them. It's sad. I'll say it my animal for officers, they take them home," Dannels said. "They just take them home, which is a common practice that I commend their professionalism and their passion. But the end of the day, it's not the right practice.”
The county is working on purchasing a building in Huachuca City. The purchase price and costs to run the shelter total about $3 million.
"We've never had a shelter. It is time that we do something, because right now, the processes and the program has some flaws," Dannels said.
Schultz says they often have to turn animals brought in from outside city limits away due to lack of space.
"We're all going to be able to have a resource for someone who might find an animal, rather than saying, I'm so sorry, this is all I have for you," Schultz said.
The new facility will have up to 40 kennels and space for livestock, according to Dannels.
"We're learning on this too, and we rely on like the city of Sierra Vista and other partners already that are doing it to kind of help us on this. But the end of the day, we're going to do it right," Dannels said.
The county is still waiting to make an offer on the building. Dannels says he hopes that will happen soon.
"This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy."
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