Support of the medical clinic

The wonderful veterinarians at PACC do miracles with the equipment and medications that the county is able to provide. But even these miracle workers need help in the form of more specialized medications and equipment. This is when Friends of PACC steps in.  In 2016, Friends of PACC spent over $25,000 on medications needed to save the lives of pets.

• A nasty outbreak of streptococcus zooepidemicus brought in by rescued stray dogs, caused the shelter to close for a few days for treatment. Friends of PACC provided funding for a veterinary specialist in disease control to fly in to help the PACC vets deal with the crisis. Friends also provided $10,000 to help cover the extra costs of treating the pets and disease control. 
• An outbreak of Parvo in our community, which is often deadly for young pups, occurred this spring infecting both puppies and adult dogs. This disease is highly contagious and without treatment, the survival rate is less than 10%. Parvo is very expensive to treat in a clinic setting. Luckily, the veterinarians at PACC had recently learned about a new protocol for providing care and treatment for parvo in foster homes. Selected fosters were provided the training, medical supplies, and ongoing support to nurse these babies back to health. Friends of PACC was there to purchase the medications and supplies to support these life-saving fosters! The program was a success! Through the Parvo Foster Project, complete litters like these labs recuperated and found their forever homes.
• When stray animals come to PACC, it is often that they are sick or injured. Many need surgery. Friends of PACC was able to purchase 4 veterinary warming systems that help to keep the animal’s temperature stable during surgery. These “hot dogs” as the vets call them, a couple of sets of new clippers, and a new washing machine for the clinic’s linens, help to keep the survival rate of the pets who come to PACC high!

Fire!

PACC depended on a large washer and dryer to keep the mountains of towels and blankets clean and safe for the animals in the kennels and in the clinic. One day, Friends of PACC got a call. Somehow, a plastic shower curtain slipped into the dryer with a load of towels and the intense heat caused a fire, burning up the shelter’s only dryer. The county had planned to purchase a new set of industrial washer and dryer when the new building was ready, but that was months away! Luckily, through the generosity of a donor, Friends of PACC could procure and have a new industrial washer and dryer delivered within just a few days. Better yet, these new machines will be moved into the new building when it is ready and will sit beside new ones that the county will be purchasing with the building opens. This gives PACC the capacity to handle the laundry each day.

Behavior training and enrichment

Thanks to a very generous bequest, PACC could hire a Behavior Specialist to work with the dogs at PACC. Friends of PACC supports this program as it makes the dogs more adoptable into families and makes their lives better while they are at PACC. To get the program off the ground, Friends of PACC purchased leads and collars for use during training. Friends also purchased two larger upright freezers to store all of the frozen enrichment treats made by the enrichment volunteers for the pups over this long hot summer.

Staff and volunteer training

An important part of improving the lives of the pets at PACC is providing opportunities for training and support for the staff and the many, many volunteers. Friends of PACC helps by covering some of the costs of staff and volunteers to travel to other shelters to learn how success programs work. This year, Friends helped bring American Humane to Tucson to train on managing disasters and emergencies that could impact the pets in our community. Friends also supported staff, volunteers and the community on how to find lost pets and on enrichment and positive behavior techniques for shelter dogs.

Friends for a healthier community

Thanks to generous donors and a match by Friends, PACC held a community vaccine clinic during the summer. Nearly 300 puppies and dogs received their vaccines during this clinic at no cost. These vaccines protect the health of the puppies and dogs in the community, and in the shelter, should they be lost or stray. Clinics like these are important to support the health of our community, our pets, and to provide education to the public on caring for their pets.

Friends of PACC and PACC working together

PACC was awarded a $50,000 grant by the ASPCA to help Keep Families Together. This project provides funding for limited medical care and humane containment for animals whose families may otherwise have to give up their pets due to cost. To allow the program to respond quickly to the identified needs, the county contracted with Friends of PACC to administer the funding. This partnership allows PACC to identify the needs of the families and for service providers to be paid quickly and efficiently. In addition, Friends of PACC secured an additional $10,000 to support this project! Great for families, pets, and a working partnership between PACC and its Friends.