Maricopa County Animal Care and Control (MCACC) is once again being recognized for maintaining its no-kill status, achieving a more than 94% save rate in 2024.
That means more than 9 out of every 10 pets that enter the shelter leave alive – a distinction the county has now reached for eight consecutive years.
But officials say maintaining that standard doesn’t come easy, especially as shelter intake numbers continue to climb.
“We have anywhere from 45 to 70 dogs coming in every single day and then maybe not as many getting adopted every day,” said Kim Powell, an MCACC spokesperson. “So we definitely have some challenges with our capacity.”
In 2024, nearly 15,800 pets entered MCACC’s care — with more than 99% of them being dogs, according to Best Friends Animal Society. Powell said that kind of daily pressure forces the shelter to make quick decisions and adjustments to avoid overcrowding and euthanasia.
To meet those challenges, MCACC made several operational changes over the past year. That includes expanding its foster program, launching a new evaluation and enrichment team, increasing off-site adoption events, and opening a third adoption center in Scottsdale – which added 46 new kennels for the shelter system to use.
“Dogs move at that location so quickly,” Powell said. “That allows us to open up kennels over there and transfer dogs (from our main facility).”
Another tool MCACC uses is its “priority placement portal” — a last-resort system that flags dogs in immediate need of rescue, typically for medical or behavioral reasons.
The portal helps rescue partners and online networkers find and share information on dogs at risk of euthanasia, enabling them to be placed in foster homes or with partner organizations.
“Fostering is such a huge way for us to open up a kennel and also save a dog’s life,” Powell said.
MCACC also restructured its staffing to include dedicated teams for adoptions, kennel care and dog evaluation – duties that used to fall to just one team.
Maintaining a no-kill status at a shelter this large, Powell said, is a team effort that wouldn’t be possible without the support of volunteers, rescue partners, networkers, and adopters throughout the community.
“It’s thanks to the community that we can make this happen,” she said.
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