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Maricopa County animal shelter seeks Christmas miracles for 600 dogs

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Published  December 22, 2025 9:18pm MST
Pets and Animals
FOX 10 Phoenix
MCACC urges holiday adoptions; reminds of lifetime commitment

MCACC urges holiday adoptions; reminds of lifetime commitment

With Christmas just days away, Maricopa County animal shelters are encouraging residents to consider adopting a pet in need. FOX 10's Taylor Wirtz has the details.

The Brief

    • Maricopa County Animal Care and Control is seeking homes for roughly 600 dogs ahead of Christmas, though it cautions that families should be prepared for a "lifetime commitment" rather than a seasonal impulse.
    • MCACC announced the creation of "Friends of Animal Care and Control," a nonprofit that will fund community services such as spay and neuter programs and vaccine clinics to help reduce the number of pets entering the shelter system.

PHOENIX - With Christmas just days away, Maricopa County animal shelters are encouraging residents to consider adopting a pet in need.

What we know:

While holiday decorations are up across the Valley, hundreds of dogs at Maricopa County Animal Care and Control (MCACC) are still waiting for a home.

"We have about 600 dogs right now between our three shelter locations, but every single day we see about 50 to 60 lost pets coming in every single day," said Kim Powell, communications supervisor for MCACC.

Staff members are working to keep the animals comfortable, but they say a shelter is no substitute for a permanent home.

"Of course, we are trying to get as many dogs into homes as possible for the holidays, because who wants to spend their holidays alone?" Powell said. "And this is a great time of year to show these dogs that home is out there and so is love."

However, Powell cautioned that a last-minute addition to the family requires serious thought.

"Just make sure that you're not only getting it just because it's for holidays," Powell said. "Make sure that everyone's involved with that decision-making and make sure everyone's ready for that lifetime commitment as well."

Dig deeper:

The new year is expected to bring expanded resources for the shelter following the announcement of a new nonprofit, the Friends of Animal Care and Control.

"It essentially is a nonprofit arm that would help raise funds to support services that we're not necessarily mandated to do," Powell explained. "So we're talking spay and neuter for our community, microchips, event, vaccine events."

Powell noted that funding for these community programs will come from the nonprofit rather than the shelter's primary budget.

"It's just a way for us to be able to help our community and also prevent dogs from ever needing to come to the shelter, because ultimately, we want this place empty," Powell said. "We want it to be wide open for other dogs that need it."

What you can do:

Click here to learn more about adopting a pet from MCACC.

Click here to see more animals in the community available for adoption.

The Source

  • FOX 10's Taylor Wirtz reported on this story by interviewing Kim Powell, communications supervisor for Maricopa County Animal Care and Control on Dec. 22.

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