The Maricopa County Sheriff's MASH Unit is responding to a growing number of animal cruelty and neglect cases.
MASH stands for Maricopa Animal Safe Haven, and investigators say they recently rescued dozens of dogs from horrendous conditions at a Litchfield Park puppy mill.
Detective David Evans is a MASH unit investigator. He says they’re checking out tips in the community almost weekly.
“I want to say, [we’ve] taken in, since May, 250 dogs and cats at MASH. And I know MASH 2 is our facility where we house horses, pigs, equine, goats and all that kind of stuff," Evans said.
Maricopa County Sheriff Jerry Sheridan had campaigned on a promise that he would prioritize animal abuse cases.
More Arizona animal news
-
Brian Fogarty has been making music for more than a decade. But over the past several months, he’s started working with new collaborators: animals. -
![AZ Husky Rescue co-founders Alison Nicolosi [left] and Veronica Reece with Marley, an adoptable dog, at the Heard Museum on July 12, 2026.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/b00a52b/2147483647/strip/true/crop/4032x2246+0+389/resize/280x156!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F6f%2Fec%2F2996515440019795916d3223754c%2Fmolly-of-denali-az-husky-rescue-20260712.jpg)
“Molly of Denali” made her groundbreaking debut on PBS Kids back in 2019. The animated Alaska Native girl is the first Indigenous lead of a nationally distributed children’s series. Now, she’s made a stop in Phoenix. -
Dr. Kim Olson Gibbs at HonorHealth believes desert dwellers could be underestimating their risk of mosquito-borne illnesses. -
Environmental advocates worry about the future of cool mix flows, which send water from Lake Powell to protect threatened humpback chub in the Grand Canyon. -
The Arizona Game and Fish Department is warning that a contagious disease that wiped out a large percentage of rabbit populations in the early 2020s is making a comeback.
![AZ Husky Rescue co-founders Alison Nicolosi [left] and Veronica Reece with Marley, an adoptable dog, at the Heard Museum on July 12, 2026.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/ba22f31/2147483647/strip/true/crop/4032x2246+0+389/resize/560x312!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F6f%2Fec%2F2996515440019795916d3223754c%2Fmolly-of-denali-az-husky-rescue-20260712.jpg)
