West Valley View: Pet Dumping on Rise at County Parks

West Valley View - July 17, 2009

Forgotten victims
Pet dumping on the rise at county parks

by Beth Kristin Ott
assistant editor

At a time when budgets are tightening, some of the first victims are often the family pets.
Cats, dogs and even reptiles are being left to fend for their lives in record numbers, in record heat.
“An animal being dumped in the elements of our weather, without food or water, is a cruel and horrible way to leave your pet,” said Sonia Hernandez, Animal Defense League of Arizona’s outreach coordinator. “Give them a chance. If keeping your animal is no longer an option, then we urge people to take their pets to a shelter, which may mean ‘the pound.’”
Hernandez, a Goodyear resident, is saddened by the effect the economy is having on pets, she said. Leaving domesticated animals to run wild is not the answer.
“First, it is a crime in Arizona to abandon an animal. Second, your animal will suffer, it is 115 degrees outside. Third, we already have too many homeless animals in our communities,” she said.
If families cannot afford necessary services such as vaccinations and spaying/neutering, assistance is available. The local spay/neuter hot line is 602-265-SPAY.
“We cannot stress enough the effectiveness and importance of spaying/neutering your pet,” Hernandez said. “If your pet is spayed/neutered, you are guaranteed that there will be no surprises and additional animals to worry about feeding.”
From 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Maricopa County Animal Care & Control will hold a free rabies vaccine clinic at Ace Hardware at 610 N. Estrella Parkway, Goodyear. Applications will be available for no-cost spay/neuter vouchers, as well.

Fido and Fluffy can’t make it in the mountains

Ranger Doc Talboys is seeing an increase in domestic animals at White Tank Mountain Regional Park. Stray dogs can be seen in record numbers in the park and on the roadside in Waddell, he said.
"It’s more than I’ve ever seen before,” he said. “We are seeing dogs and some snakes being left around here. Forgotten victims Pet dumping on the rise at county parks I am seeing dogs running loose in packs, which can be dangerous.”
A dog left in or around the mountain parks isn’t likely to survive, and some can be dangerous to the wildlife and people in the park.
“They won’t survive the heat,” Talboys said. “They get hit by cars, or wild animals get them. These animals are not used to hunting and having to find water.”
Stray packs of dogs can also be a threat to the natural wildlife, killing the park’s deer and rabbits.
“It’s sad that we live in a disposable society,” Talboys said.
A few people have also decided they can no longer care for their pet snakes and are turning them out into the desert.
“A domesticated snake is not going to survive out there,” he said. One king snake was rescued and approved by the county and Arizona Game & Fish to be adopted by White Tank Park. It now lives in the Visitors Center.
Estrella Mountain Regional Park in Goodyear has also seen an increase in abandoned pets, Ranger Patricia Armstrong said.
“People need to not drop things off,” she said. “We’ve always seen dogs, but now it’s more than ever.”
The park recently opened a tortoise habitat with two desert dwellers, and soon after found two additional, very sick, tortoises that had been dropped off in the habitat.
“These animals can have diseases that then affect the wildlife. The wild animals can be killed off by viruses not normally carried by them,” she said.
Anyone who needs information can call the Arizona Game & Fish Department at 602-942-3000.
The department runs an official desert tortoise adoption program. Domestic cats and even a pair of horses have also been abandoned in the area of Estrella Mountain Park.
“There were two horses left near the river, and thankfully they got saved,” Armstrong said.
“All the foreclosures are leaving lots of homeless pets.”

Beth Kristin Ott can be reached by e-mail
at bott@westvalleyview.com.