PHOENIX — Economic issues facing Valley residents may be contributing to the recent rise in dog abandonments, according to animal advocates.
Tammy Johnson, a West Valley resident who runs an charity called You Rescued Me, said she often has to call Maricopa County Animal Care and Control for help saving abandoned dogs.
“We do try to avoid sending any dogs to county as much as we possibly can because he do know that they’re overwhelmed,” Johnson told KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Arizona’s Morning News on Thursday.
What’s the reason behind the rise in dog abandonments in metro Phoenix?
She recently responded to a call of around eight dogs who were left behind in a rural area in Buckeye.
“They were evicted and they left behind all their dogs,” Johnson said of the owners. “Because we live in a more rural area, I think the common idea is, ‘Oh, well, they have a farm’ or ‘They have animals,’ and they dump them.”
Law enforcement deprioritizing animal abandonment is partly to blame for the rise of dog abandonments in metro Phoenix, she added.
“The lack of consequences, I think, that’s why it’s so bad,” Johnson said. “It’s a common frustration for people who are … the voice for the animals.”
Earlier this year, the Arizona Senate passed a bill to bring more protections for abused and neglected animals, but the House hasn’t voted on it.
Dog abandonments worse in rural areas
Neighborhood cameras can help law enforcement catch people who dump dogs. In March, Surprise Police arrested a man and a woman allegedly caught on camera abandoning a dog.
In rural areas, there is less surveillance equipment to monitor crimes, making it more difficult to identify culprits.
“There is a lady who lives down from us who is trying to save as many as she can and she’s dealing with them being dumped in a wash that’s out by her house,” Johnson said. “She’s tried to set up trail cameras to catch them. … But they wind up taking her trail cameras and they steal them.”
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