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Pinal Pupdate

July 2025

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4th of July Pet Preparedness & Safety

The Fourth of July is a time full of fun for most members of the family. However, you don't want to overlook the importance of keeping your furry family members safe during Independence Day.

Many pets run away each year due to the extreme stress caused by Fourth of July fireworks. More pets go missing during the 4th of July than on any other day of the year. Sadly, this results in a surge of stray animals at animal shelters and even pets found fatally hit by cars. Here are some tips to help keep your furry loved ones safe this 4th of July:

Identification

In the worst-case scenario, if your pet manages to escape during the holiday, it's essential to ensure it's wearing its ID tags or is microchipped. It is also crucial to ensure that this information is up-to-date.

Pinal County Animal Care & Control is offering FREE pet microchips until July 3rd. Schedule your appointment today by contacting the shelter! Learn more

Bring Your Pets Inside

Although your pet may typically not be able to escape their yard, fear can cause them to take extreme measures in flight mode, including hurting themselves to squeeze through small openings, digging, and jumping to new heights to escape. It is highly recommended to bring your pets inside during fireworks; if you can't, be sure to reinforce any weak spots in your fencing and double-check gate locks.

Create a Safe Space for Your Pet

Most pets find comfort in their crates in a specific bedroom. Be sure to prepare your pet's safe spot with a way to drown out the sounds of fireworks (music, TV, sound machine, etc). Help distract them by providing toys and treats. You can make treats more engaging by giving frozen treats or a filled Kong toy. Try exercising your pet before the fireworks start to help tire them out so they can sleep through most of it.

Supplements and Calming Shirts

Many pet stores sell calming supplements. Consult with your veterinarian to determine which supplement they recommend for your pet. Most pet stores also sell Thundershirts, which are specifically designed to help calm pets and are available in various sizes for dogs and cats.

If your pet goes missing, be proactive and start your search immediately. Drive around, talk to your neighbors, post neighborhood chats, and check your local shelter! 24petconnect.com is a helpful website where lost and found reports can be made, and citizens can browse animals online at local shelters.

PCACC recently had the privilege of participating in a new prison program with One Love Arizona and Marley's Mutts. We showed them several of our all-star dogs, and they chose to have Fancy, a blue and white American Staffordshire, and Ray, a Husky/Chow mix, participate in the program.

Throughout the 12-week program, the prisoners learned to love, train, and prepare the dogs for their forever homes. The program was such a success that they plan to hold a second class in the fall and utilize our dogs again! We were honored to join the graduation festivities at the Lewis Prison in Buckeye.

Pictured above from the graduation ceremony are Lindsay Blazevich, CEO of One Love Arizona; Dana Klose, One Love Arizona; Audra Michael, Pinal County Animal Care & Control Director; and Katrina Rodrigues, Pinal County Animal Care & Control Deputy Director.

Marty Brister started volunteering in March of 2020. He had wanted to volunteer for years. He was working at the substation across the street when he heard all the dogs barking, and it was like they were calling to him.

As a volunteer, it's all about the opportunities for him. The staff can become overburdened with the tasks they are assigned, which can be stressful. He feels like there are a million ways to help. Don't wait to be told what to do, find something, get permission, and go for it!

For Marty, that includes washing dogs and taking pictures of them as well. At first, he cataloged the dogs he had washed, but when one of his pictures of a dog named Angel got published, Angel got adopted! He was then determined that not only would he bathe the dogs, but he would also learn how to make every dog look special. That is what he strives to do every time he volunteers. Marty is pictured below with one of his favorite dogs, Jojo, who was recently adopted by an amazing family.

Erika Rodriguez, a former staff member at PCACC, has recently launched her own dog training business, Malo K9 Training, after recognizing the need for dog care and training opportunities in Pinal County.

We are partnering with Malo K9 Training, beginning August 2nd, every Saturday for six weeks. If you adopted a dog from PCACC, you will receive a discount! This is the first step we have taken with an in-house training partner to help people keep their pets!

July's Pinal Pup of the Month is Buddy (A275419). Buddy came to the shelter as an owner-surrender in July 2024. His owner was overwhelmed by the number of dogs he cared for and had to reduce his numbers. Buddy came in with his brother, and they were very scared of new people. Buddy's brother bullied him in the kennel, leading to their separation, and it was then that Buddy's personality began to shine!

Buddy is a medium-sized goofball, a public walker, and does get along with other dogs once he warms up. He is a staff and volunteer favorite, but he has never had a meet-and-greet. We hope someone out there will come meet Buddy and love him as much as we do!

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