The Pima Animal Care Center, (PACC), is seeking urgent assistance from the community as they brace for an influx of dogs ahead of Fourth of July festivities.
Currently at capacity with over 500 dogs, PACC expects even more animals to arrive after the holiday. To manage this anticipated surge, the center is offering to pay the community $5 a day to foster a dog for two weeks.
"The week following Fourth of July festivities, we see a lot of dogs come in," said Monica Dangler, PACC Director. "We know the economy is tricky right now, so if we can give a little extra to help you take care of the pets besides your crates and food and things like that, then that’s what we want to do to help get these dogs back into homes."
The center expects to see over 300 dogs come in after the Fourth, a significant increase from the 250 dogs they normally take in each week. The loud noises from fireworks during the holiday often scare dogs into running away, adding to the number of animals arriving at the shelter.
"Dogs, cats, and wildlife are pretty traumatized by really loud, unusual bangs and booms. Those loud bangs just scare the dogs, scare wildlife, scare cats, and they go running," Dangler said.
Fostering dogs helps the shelter in multiple ways. "It helps us make space in the shelter, which is super important for life-saving, but it also helps us learn a lot about these dogs and how they are in a household," Dangler said.