Maricopa County Animal Care & Control over capacity, seeks adopters

PHOENIX (KSZ) - As you can see behind me, we have lots of little friends at Maricopa County Animal Care and Control.

"This little guy doesn't have a name just yet, but he will be available for adoption tomorrow, he's one of the 683 we still have here at the facility," Jose Santiago said.

"That is a huge number as it is... you guys are way over capacity?" I asked.

"We really are, we always have about 350 animals total in our shelter," Santiago said. "Over the weekend, we figured out we have 750 animals here, 700 of which are dogs. Right now we're at 683, we did adopt out about 225 animals over the last three days, but as you could imagine we keep getting those strays in, so that 700 numbers, even though we adopted 200, really only dropped by about 17."

"So what are we asking the public to do?" I asked.

"We are really asking people to come out here and adopt, if you have space not only in your home, but in your heart," Santiago said. "Any dog above the age of 6 months is going home for free. That means they're going to be vaccinated, they're going to have their alterations, surgeries, all of this stuff goes along with it. All that you would need to bring is a $17 if you can't help, meaning if you can't adopt we're always looking for donations, volunteers, supplies, food, dogs."

"How do you decide what is the best pet for you?" I asked.

"You know, I always tell people to come on down, bring their family members and their existing animals, make sure everybody gets along, and it's a good fit," Santiago said.

So everybody come on down and pick out one of these cuties!