GOVERNMENT
LITTLE WHISKERS BY THE NUMBERS 9 FOSTER HOMES 61 CATS CURRENTLY IN THE RESCUE 781 CATS RESCUED IN LAST FISCAL YEAR
Source: Little Whiskers Rescue
A volunteer for Little Whiskers holds foster kitten Shock Nov. 5.
A call to action Even if a shelter is never built in Maricopa, there are other things that can be done to quell the city’s feral pet problem — like educating the public, volunteering or donating to local rescues like Little Whiskers. “I know times are tough and sometimes it’s not always inexpensive to get a dog spayed or neutered, but the consequences of not doing that or not keeping your pet indoors can be catastrophic for the city,” Goettl said. “That
“People think that they’re going to get in trouble, which is not true. They think it’s going to be too much money, which is also not true,” she said. The question is this: Will a shelter ever be built in the city? A lot of residents are holding out hope for one. Said Banford: “We need a shelter in town that the lost and dumped pets can go to so we can help control this epidemic of animals being dumped out here.”
would be my plea to our residents.” PCACC offers vouchers for such surgeries with the purchase of a license for your pet. Keeping track of pets, whether through the county’s pet licensing program or a microchip, is important to keep shelter numbers down, Michael said — only 1 in 10 incoming pets is ever reunited with its owner. Michael said people holding onto animals they find for a couple days would be helpful as well.
COMPARING COUNTIES
ANIMAL CONTROL CALLS IN MARICOPA
60,000
966
60,000
*
871
1,000
689
4,000,000
750
4,000,000
347
500
45,000
250
3,000,000
0
2021
2022 2023 2024
30,000
Table 1 BARKING, VICIOUS DOG PROBLEM ON THE RISE
2,000,000
300
2021 2022 2023 2024
347
214
*
196
225
689
871
15,000
130
966
1,000,000
150
5,000
450,000
Barking Dog Calls Viciousg Dog Calls
59
58
*
75
37
31
900
300
270
149
6
0
Citizens served
Dogs at a time Kennels Animals per year
1
Source: City of Maricopa
*Projected
Source: Pinal County Animal Care and Control
1
1
InMaricopa.com | December 2024
December 2024 | InMaricopa.com
Table 1
12
13
2021
59
6
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