Paw Prints Winter 2025

ARIZONA HUMANE SOCIETY®

WINTER 2025

ROADMAP TO A BRIGHTER FUTURE IN 2025 PAGE 3

SAVING PETS ONE SNIP AT A TIME PAGES 4-5

DONATING SAFELY & AVOIDING SCAMS PAGE 6

ADVOCACY UPDATE PAGE 7

TURN A GOODBYE INTO A HELLO

Arizona Humane Society’s Continuing Care Program Your pets have a special place in your heart. They have a special place in ours, too. The Arizona Humane Society’s Continuing Care program will make sure your pets are compassionately cared for and placed in a loving home even after you’re gone.

Our Mission To save the most vulnerable animals and enrich the lives of pets and people.

Our Values Innovation, Compassion & Excellence

Call our Planned Giving Team at 602.997.7585 ext. 1034, or email legacycircle@azhumane.org and learn how we can help.

Dr. Steven R. Hansen

SWING FUR THE GREEN & HELP HOMELESS PETS

President & CEO

2025 AHS BOARD OF DIRECTORS Executive Committee Suzanne Hensing, Chair

Deepa Lohse, Treasurer

Julie Johnson, Vice Chair

Dr. Craig Thatcher, Past Chair

Yvonne Betts, Secretary

in On Hole ry e? u Veh x u icle aL in !

W 5TH ANNUAL

PRESENTING SPONSOR

Board Members Bryan Albue

Ricki Dee Jennings

Andrea Claus

Suzy Juneau

Ann Damiano

Phyllis Kirk

Julie Gable

Chad Makovsky

Dyan Getz

Andrea Marconi

Dr. Ingrid Haas

Kristin Slyker

Susanne Ingold

Patricia Tate

FRIDAY, APRIL 4, 2025 MCCORMICK RANCH GOLF CLUB

SIGN UP TODAY! 2 | PAW P R I N T S

AZHUMANE .ORG © 2025 Arizona Humane Society

OUR ROADMAP TO A BRIGHTER FUTURE IN 2025 At the heart of everything we do is our mission to save the most vulnerable animals and enrich the lives of our community’s pets and people. With a spirit of innovation, compassion and excellence, our 2025 organizational goals are all about keeping pets and people together, enhancing the care we provide, expanding resources for pet owners and their companions and fostering a future where every tail wags!

Here’s a look at how we plan to make the future brighter for pets over the next year, and beyond.

EXPAND PROGRAMS FOR SHELTER ANIMALS •

24/7 ICU Care: Launch round-the-clock care within the Lazin Animal Foundation Trauma Hospital, increasing quality of treatment for critical patients.

•

Decrease Response Time: As call volume increases, we’re hiring additional Animal Cruelty & Rescue Team members to help decrease investigation wait times by 25%.

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Big Dog Adoptions: Reduce shelter stays for large dogs by 10% through spay/neuter surgeries, awareness campaigns, and streamlined processes.

EXPAND ACCESS TO CARE FOR OWNED PETS •

New Urgent Care Clinic: Opening this year at our Rob & Melani Walton Papago Park Campus (6 PM – 12 AM) for essential, competitively priced care.

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Remodeled Sunnyslope Campus Marge Wright Veterinary Clinic: Thanks to PetSmart Charities’ generous $1.3 million grant support.

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More Spay/Neuter Services: Perform 2,000 additional surgeries annually at the Nina Mason Pulliam South Mountain Campus Margaret Mcallister Brock Veterinary Clinic to fight overpopulation.

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Educate Owners on Resources to Keep Their Pets: Promote critical services like mobile clinics, wellness exams, and low-cost spay/neuter surgeries.

BUILD A BRIGHTER FUTURE •

Plan for Tomorrow: Engage stakeholders to create a visionary 10-year strategic plan with a clear funding roadmap.

•

Stay Ahead: Explore trends, technologies, and innovations to ensure growth and resilience.

WINTER 2025 | 3

SAVING PETS ONE SNIP AT A TIME In honor of World Spay Day on February 25, we’re highlighting the critical role spaying and neutering play in addressing pet overcapacity at shelters across our state and the nation.

These procedures are the most effective way to reduce homeless pet populations while protecting against health issues and negative behaviors. The pandemic caused an estimated 3 million missed spay/neuter surgeries, leaving shelters to grapple with the ongoing impact.

At AHS, our team excels in high-volume spay/neuter techniques, streamlining processes to maximize efficiency while maintaining quality care. In 2024 alone, we performed 19,168 surgeries for both shelter and owned pets, including a single-day record of 120 alterations at the BISSELL Pet Foundation Spay & Neuter Unit during our busiest summer in a decade. Thanks to our community clinics, Healthy Tails Mobile Veterinary Clinic, Circle of Friends supporters, and dedicated partners, we’re striving for a future where preventable overpopulation no longer drives animals into shelters.

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SUPPORTING THE WEST VALLEY AND ITS FELINE FRIENDS AHS is proud to support the West Valley through a special partnership with Sun Cities 4Paws Cat Rescue! Each month, our Healthy Tails Mobile Veterinary Clinic visits to help spay and neuter the 850 cats they take in annually. These trips are made possible thanks to our Circle of Friends donors, ensuring a healthier, more sustainable future for kitties in the West Valley!

EXPANDING CARE FOR OWNED PETS Thanks to a generous What Would Mary Do? Grant through the McS Charitable Foundation, we will soon offer spay/neuter appointments on Fridays and Saturdays at the Margaret McAllister Brock Veterinary Clinic at our Nina Mason Pulliam South Mountain Campus, enabling our organization to perform 2,000 more surgeries of owned pets in 2025.

SHOWING PIT BULLS THE LOVE THEY DESERVE Overpopulation is a major challenge for the pit bull breed. Thanks to the support of a dedicated Circle of Friends donor, we’ve partnered with our friends at One Love Pit Bull Foundation to schedule 40 spay and neuter surgeries each month for owned pitties. To date, our teams have completed 108 surgeries and provided additional medical care such as wellness exams, vaccines and other medical services to pets in need.

WINTER 2025 | 5

DONOR SPOTLIGHT JESSICA IENNARELLA

Meet Jessica, a dedicated Constant Companion monthly donor, President’s Club member and long-time Compassion with Fashion silent auction cochair. Along with her husband, Anthony, she also frequently volunteers, and all four of their pets are AHS alumni. Jessica’s multi-faceted support embodies the spirit of giving, and we’re so grateful for her commitment to our mission.

Q: What inspired you to begin supporting AHS? A: My husband and I adopted our first cat, Tigger, from AHS in 2009, and we’ve stayed involved ever since. We’ve adopted three more pets over the last several years, our dog Marvel and two other cats Shadow and Ghost, and started volunteering together, which has been a meaningful way for us to share an interest in giving back.

Q: What aspects of our mission resonate with you?

A: We appreciate how comprehensive AHS programs are. They not only save animals and provide top-notch medical care but also offer services like spay/neuter programs and support to keep pets in their homes. AHS’ approach to helping pets and people in many different ways aligns with our values.

Q: What makes you confident in your decision to give monthly?

A: As a CFO, fiscal responsibility is key for me. AHS is very transparent about their financials and ensures every donation is well spent. I’m involved in events like Compassion with Fashion, and I see firsthand how carefully they manage resources while providing exceptional care for animals.

Giving monthly makes it easier to budget and allows AHS to plan ahead. It’s a great way to stay connected to the cause and keep it top of mind throughout the year. Plus, it’s easy to adjust the amount if needed, making it a flexible and rewarding way to contribute.

BE AWARE OF WHERE YOUR CHARITABLE DOLLARS ARE GOING Charitable contribution scams are on the rise across the nation. Kindhearted individuals are deceived into giving to fraudulent organizations or are swayed to donate to national organizations that only minimally support efforts in local communities. Want to ensure your charitable dollars are going to the causes you care most about? Here are some tips: •

Check “charity watch dog” websites like Charity Navigator or Guidestar to make sure a charity is legitimate and uses donations appropriately to further their mission.

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Research where your money goes. Want your dollars to go to local causes?

Give to local organizations. For example, the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) is not affiliated with local humane societies including the Arizona Humane Society.

•

Scammers use organization names that sound like reputable, well-known charities, or those that you have donated to before. Before giving, make sure to ask for a charity’s exact name, website and federal tax ID number (or EIN) so you can confirm the information (AHS’ is 86-0135567).

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Scammers may try to convince you to “donate” via apps like CashApp or Venmo, or via wire transfer, or by purchasing gift cards and giving them the gift card numbers. Most legitimate charities will not request donations in this way.

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DRIVERS FOR CHANGE ADVOCATING FOR PETS IN THE FACE OF RISING CRUELTY CASES Arizona’s 2025 legislative session is underway and the Arizona Humane Society is spearheading SB1234. This legislation aims to strengthen the state’s animal cruelty statute by better defining failure to treat medical conditions and requiring pets be provided with adequate drinking water, food fit for consumption, and proper shelter. After seeing a 9% increase in animal cruelty investigations in 2024, we are hopeful this bill will significantly improve protections for Arizona’s pets. Support our efforts to save more pets by signing up for legislative alerts at azhumane.org/be-an-advocate.

9%

8.5% increase from year prior

increase from year prior

9%

56%

AHS’ Emergency Animal Medical Technicians™ (EAMTs™), or pet paramedics, responded to 16,714 rescues and investigations last year.

Last year, 12,146 sick and injured animals were brought in through AHS’ EAMT program.

AHS’ EAMTs/Animal Cruelty Investigators performed 10,767 cruelty investigations.

Last year, our EAMTs responded to 114 cases in which we seized 10 animals or more. We seized 2,453 animals total from these cases.

increase from year prior

increase from year prior

3 MOST COMMON CRUELTY INVESTIGATIONS: WELFARE CHECK, ABANDONMENT, NO WATER

WINTER 2025 | 7

Non-Profit Org. U.S. Postage PAID Phoenix, AZ Permit No. 456

5501 E. Van Buren Street Phoenix, AZ 85008 azhumane.org

FEEL THE LOVE WITH A COMPASSIONATE CUDDLE Cuddling is scientifically proven to ease stress, lower blood pressure and even relieve pain. Pair that with tiny animals, and you’ve got yourself an un-fur-gettable snuggle session! We’ve got litters of precious puppies, kittens and bunnies eagerly waiting for their chance to nuzzle up with you at your next event. Hurry and book your Cuddle Bunch today for the purr-fect celebration! Visit azhumane.org/cuddlebunch.

OUR 2024 IMPACT REPORT IS NOW AVAILABLE From the opening of our revolutionary Rob & Melani Walton Papago Park Campus, to caring for a record-breaking number of sick, injured and abused pets, the milestones we reached in 2024 would not have been possible without you.

Learn how your support is helping us transform animal welfare in our community for years to come.

CARING HEARTS WANTED Become a Foster Hero.

Learn more at azhumane.org/vehicledonation.

Sign up today at azhumane.org/foster.