There are plenty of reasons why dogs are called “man’s best friend.” They provide companionship and love in an unconditional way. And, like any good friend, they are there when you need them the most.

The dogs (and humans) of Gabriel’s Angels take the latter idea to the next level. Founded in 2000, the organization aims to help at-risk children through pet therapy. The goal is to use the connections between kids and dogs to help the kids develop some core behaviors — attachment, confidence, self-regulation, affiliation, empathy, tolerance and respect.

Like many nonprofits, Gabriel’s Angels had to reboot a bit after the pandemic slowed down their work and their founder left the organization. But now they’re back at it, with some exciting new initiatives to spread the impact of pet therapy to kids all over Arizona.

“I say it’s a 24-year-old startup working to reinvent what we can do for the community,” said Melissa Steimer, the CEO of Gabriel’s Angels. “We know that kids’ needs have changed through the pandemic. There are a lot of mental health issues happening. In Arizona, that’s one of the biggest challenges we’re facing.”

^{Melissa Steimer}

Gabriel’s Angels does its work by identifying and training volunteers (canine and human) who work in teams to go to crisis centers and other places where children experiencing trauma and mental health challenges can participate in programs with the dogs. The organization has ramped back up to now have more than 100 teams across the state actively working with kids.

And they may have found the secret sauce. Gabriel’s Angels is now expanding its work in schools in disadvantaged areas, where they can maximize their impact on the largest number of children possible. 

“They have more of a consistency of kids, which is really helpful, and they can pull kids out of their classroom space to have smaller group activities,” Steimer said. “A lot of schools right now are doing that anyway, because of needing counselors at schools to help these kids with whatever their issues are. We have this audience of kids that need this support, and the schools are allowing these kinds of programs to come into schools.”

Kristine Kassel is one of the organization’s volunteers — along with her dog Teddy — and is a former board chair for the organization. She has seen the impact pets can have in schools firsthand.

“I have witnessed direct impact individually and also on the larger groups of kids since Teddy and I have been at the same school for three years,” she said. “Now, we even see younger siblings of students that Teddy already worked with. There is no other program like Gabriel’s Angels. Personalized outreach from a fuzzy friend is a type of compassion like no other.”

Kassel cited the impacts of COVID and parents having to work longer hours as having a significant impact on the children she serves, as well as the access kids have to information — good and bad — through the Internet.

“The work has always been important, but I think today there is more of a need,” she said. “So the caring and outreach that a therapy team can provide to all students, especially those struggling, is priceless.”

One of the districts Gabriel’s Angels is most involved in is the Washington Elementary School District in the West Valley. Amanda Quine, the district’s director of social services, said the organization is currently working in three schools, with many more currently in the pipeline and the potential to work in all 32 of the district’s schools.

The district signed a memorandum of understanding with Gabriel’s Angels for this school year that focuses on three program areas.

“One is all about reading, where kids can practice reading to the dog in a safe environment. If they’re uncomfortable with their reading skills or abilities, you couldn’t ask for a better place to take some risks and be as vulnerable as you can when you practice those skills with a dog,” she said.

Gabriel’s Angels is also doing small group interactions where the children work on some of the core values that will help them as they grow and mature. And, teams from Gabriel’s Angels are making community visits where groups of children have an opportunity to interact with pets.

The results of the reading program have been tangible, as have the behavioral benefits for the students.

“It improves their coping skills, and in the reading group, you can see drastic improvements in reading skills,” Quine said. “Kids that have the opportunity to practice with the dog have seen significant growth academically. And those students’ reading abilities, comprehension, fluency — they are improving in all of that.”

But the improvements are more than academic. “Their whole presence is calmer, and it allows them to not only identify what those coping strategies are but to really feel them,” Quine said. “When we can feel the impact of something, it’s much more likely that we’re going to continue to practice it, because we like how it feels. We want to experience that all over again.”

Steimer said the organization is working diligently to plan for the future and expand its impact. Schools are an important part of that. She even sees Gabriel’s Angels as a resource in addressing issues such as school absenteeism and other core issues students and families face.

“Something we’ve been seeing lately is a shift in this realization that pet therapy has a place in helping to heal kids and to help kids show up at school more,” she said. “If we can bring the expertise of understanding how the pet can be brought into the solutions, that’s what we’re looking to do over the next 10 years.”

To learn more, visit gabrielsangels.org. 

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Hunkapi started in 1999 after Arizona State University conducted a three-year research study investigating the effect of sport on children with special needs. It found that of all the sports studied, horseback riding was the most positive intervention for improving self-esteem, self-concept and attentional focus. A decision was made to launch a community-based therapeutic riding program grounded in the idea of interrelatedness and the responsibility that emanates from it.

Terra Schaad, the founder and executive director of Hunkapi Programs, was asked to launch the program at ASU and continued at the helm for nearly 10 years until the university canceled the program during the 2008 recession. Schaad took the opportunity to form a nonprofit, shifting the program’s focus from children with special needs to those who have experienced trauma.

“This was a mid-career crisis for me as I evaluated if I had it in me to start this all over again and whether there was anything else I would rather be doing,” she said. “Regardless of how hard I thought this would be, I had to muster the energy to rebuild.” And rebuild she did, with Schaad immediately selling or placing 21 of the 25 horses from the previous program and working as the sole employee out of her garage.

Schaad’s love and appreciation for horses lie at her core, and she attributes their impact to saving her life. A neighbor, who Schaad viewed as a grandfather, opened his farm in Illinois to the poor country kids and allowed them to claim one of his horses as their own. As she didn’t have a strong family unit growing up, this experience changed the trajectory of Schaad’s life, giving her a sense of freedom, the ability to escape and take care of herself, and assertiveness.

“They created a community around me, and those horse people grew to be my family,” she said. “I loved what horses gave to me and how everything melted away when I was around them. I could find a sense of safety, and in that sense of safety, I had capacity to dream and hope, despite what happened in my background.”

Hitting One’s Stride

Fast-forward more than two decades, and you will now find Schaad and her husband, Rob Chavarry, residing on-site at Hunkapi Farm with 35 horses and 52 farm animals that serve as therapeutic aids, including donkeys, chickens, cows, pigs, dogs, cats and a goat. The organization has grown beyond solely horse therapy to provide equine-assisted programs to 300 people per week that include therapeutic riding for children or adults with special needs with a goal of recreation; life skills for children and adults, teaching social skills, boundary setting and assertiveness; and psychotherapy with masters-level therapists addressing clinical goals, such as decreasing symptoms of anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Hunkapi’s First Responder Program, now in its 14^th cohort, starts to change the culture within the first-responder community and the belief systems around PTSD by helping program participants understand the effect and build-up of energy resulting from regularly overriding the natural fight, flight, freeze response. Horses help first responders understand this biological response and train them how to dissipate and deactivate it from their system so they can be more ready for work the next day.

Those who aren’t interested in horses are welcome to experience the sanctuary of the farm where vegetables are grown and farm-to-table dinners take place, as well as yoga and sound bowl healing. The entire farm connects people to mind, body and spirit in an experiential way. “It’s not cognitive. We’re not teaching people to be in their heads,” Schaad said. “We’re teaching them to experience something and how to integrate that into life.”

Getting to Know the Herd

Animals at the farm share two commonalities with clients at Hunkapi — all come from different walks of life and many, including half of the horses, have experienced trauma. The story of each horse and how it arrived at the farm is different. There are showjumpers that are now retired after what appears to be a privileged life of private grooms and flying all over the world yet have trauma from a performance bar set so high, to kill pen rescues that have been made to pull carts, have babies and been starved. Hunkapi benefits not only people, but the animals as well.

Horses are ideal for aiding in therapy because they are prey animals, with eyes on the sides of their head scanning for danger and nervous systems wired to be attuned to their surroundings. They are not loyal and indicate feeling safe by approaching humans. “When you put a human in the arena with a horse that is a prey animal, they have to internally self-regulate in order to create the desired response from the animal,” Schaad said. “The horse gives them a tool they can walk out of that arena with right away, understanding their responsibility for what they bring in the room.”

Galloping Toward the Future

Hunkapi will continue to go the distance, thanks to the generous hearts and hands of 75 to 100 volunteers on a weekly basis who take care of the horses, serve as instructional aides, or roll up their sleeves to plant gardens or build a fence. The organization’s greatest ongoing need is volunteers, and a wide array of opportunities are offered for those 14 and older.

Schaad has future goals for healing not just in Arizona, but eventually spanning the globe. Hunkapi’s somatic approach to equine healing is now formalized and copyrighted. The curriculum will be available to practitioners, and continuing education units offered when Hunkapi trains clinical staff  on how to use the methodology in their own practices.

As Schaad continues to pour her heart into the farm, animals, programs and Hunkapi’s clients, she is unwavering in her commitment to offering engaging experiences to an entire community. “I want people to know we are here,” she said. “I want us to be Arizona’s farm.”

To learn more, visit hunkapi.org. 

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BACKYARD BEGINNINGS

Almost There Rescue was founded in 2013 by Geri Hormel, who was fostering and volunteering for various rescue organizations throughout the Valley. She saw the greatest needs were space and time for nursing moms and puppies. Geri wanted to provide this and started with one litter in her backyard, which snowballed into a few and continued to grow and operate from an old home before moving to our current building a little more than two years ago. I got involved with the rescue in 2017 as a foster and volunteer. My involvement quickly grew because I saw such a large need and wanted to do whatever I could.

6:30 A.M. >> PUPPY PRIORITY

We have appointments at the rescue as early as 7 a.m., so I begin my day by checking my messages to make sure the dogs are back from their foster and made it to their spay or neuter appointments before I head outside with my dog, Coco. I recently moved close to the Phoenix Mountain Preserve, and I like to hike with her. Hiking is a way to clear my head and a nice start to my day. Coco is a big part of my life, and I like giving her as much attention as possible, especially on those long days at the rescue when she is home alone. I try to get all my administrative work done from home because once I am at the rescue, it’s all hands on deck, and I focus on the pressing issues there. Animal rescue is rarely linear, and I thrive in trying to modify the puzzle when the pieces don’t fit perfectly. My position is very creative, as every day is different and full of unique challenges that require innovative solutions.

8 A.M. >> A TEAM THAT WORKS FOR THE DOGS

I touch base with each of the eight department heads every day, as well as our animal care specialists, to find out what is happening with the dogs in their respective areas. Since the rescue is a maternity ward for dogs, we have two animal care specialists for the two different sides of our facility — a quarantine side and the well side. All dogs go through a two-week quarantine process when they come into our care because we have a susceptible population and are careful not to spread disease.

Our management team meets on a biweekly basis, and on the alternate week, we meet with each team member individually. But every day, I connect with the team informally, talking through things a person is going through at that moment. Sometimes these conversations happen on the fly, such as while we are walking to the med room talking through a medical case or in the kennel while working on behavior with a shy dog.

10:30 A.M. >> WHAT’S IN A NAME

We regularly coordinate intakes throughout Arizona, including the county shelters and rescue organizations near reservations. Processing intake is a significant task and includes several team members, because it involves vaccinating, giving the dog a bath, conducting behavior and medical evaluations and taking cute photos. We name every dog, and it can be difficult to name 14 dogs at the same time! We pick names by a theme to stay organized. There are a million themes out there, from TV shows and flowers to sandwiches and Disney characters. We’re always accepting ideas, so if anyone knows good theme names for dogs, we’re in the market!

12:30 P.M. >> KEEPING THE FAMILY TOGETHER

A big part of our work is stopping the cycle of people with dogs that have accidentally gotten pregnant. It’s overwhelming, and a lot of work for a person or family. We’re lucky to have the resources to take these dogs, help raise the puppies and get them all spayed or neutered. One of our new services is a maternity leave program that allows members of the public with an accidental litter to bring their dog to us. We take temporary ownership of the dog, give them medical care, raise the puppies until they’re weaned, get them spayed or neutered and then return the dog to the owner after it’s been spayed or neutered. Sometimes people don’t have the resources or the money to get their dogs spayed or neutered, and we want to be able to help. It feels good to stop the cycle.

2 P.M. >> A DOG HAS ITS DAY

I like to work from our front lobby because I can see what’s going on everywhere, and this is where most movement occurs. It is fun and rewarding to watch excited people come in, disappear into the adoption room and then leave with a new family member. It’s common for adoption appointments to take place on one day because a litter, ranging from three to 14 puppies, will become adoptable at the same time. We provide extensive counseling with potential adopters that includes a complete profile of the dog, so when adopters take them home, they understand who this dog was before they got them and can help them grow into the best dog they can be. We pride ourselves on our Puppy Preschool, a socialization and enrichment program, beginning from the time they come to us until they leave our care. We work with the puppies every day, exposing them to positive experiences — sight, sound, textures — helping them develop into well-rounded dogs that are adaptable, adoptable and fit well with their families.

6 P.M. >> WORKING YOUR TAIL OFF FOR A CAUSE

My workday does not end at the shelter. I come home and spend a few hours tying up loose ends, whether answering emails, fulfilling administrative promises I’ve made to my team or helping with anything pressing for that day before I wind down for the night. One of the things I do to relax is walk with Coco and hang out with her. The rescue doesn’t close until 9 p.m., so I continue to pay attention to what is happening. My job is 24/7, and this includes making sure everything gets closed and the dogs are well at the end of the night.

One thing I’ve learned over the past five-and-a-half years is that it is easy to get caught up and feel like you’re not giving enough, because this is emotional, heart-wrenching work. We’re a small but mighty team with a passion for dogs and a desire to make a dent in the homeless dog population. We will work ourselves to the bone, so it’s important to me that my team understands that self-care is essential, and a separation is needed between work and play.

To learn more, go to almostthererescue.org.

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My wife and I look at the day, which is usually around Nov. 18 or 19 in Philadelphia, as the greatest day of the year. We get to spend it with 2,000 of the best-trained dogs in the country — over 200 breeds! The energy is always powerful and upbeat. 

Why do you think dogs are so special?

Dogs give off wonderful vibrations, and I think we, as humans, pick them up. When you’re in an elevator with 10 people and one dog, everybody focuses on the dog. He makes everybody smile, and everybody’s got something nice to say. Dogs do wonderful things for us. 

Are you a dog owner yourself?

We’ve always had a dog. I wrote in my first book that I’m a better person with a dog in my lap. Right now, we have two rescues and a purebred that we’ve had for about 14 years.

You’re famous for playing J. Peterman on “Seinfeld,” and you’re a part owner of the company today. Do people mistake you for the real J. Peterman?

I refer to it as the world’s greatest act of identity theft. For the many years that the real John Peterman and I were on the board of directors of the J. Peterman Company together, we would have our board meetings in New York. He and I would go out for lunch and walk up Madison Avenue. Sure enough, it wouldn’t be more than 50 feet before some cop would roll down his window and scream, “Hey, Peterman!” And he was talking to me, not John Peterman.  

A new generation became familiar with you from “Dancing with the Stars.” What has that been like?

Yeah, I’ve been lucky to put my fingers through the belt loops of some incredible franchises. Starting with “Seinfeld,” then “Dancing with the Stars,” “To Tell the Truth,” “Family Feud” and then finally, the National Dog Show. Any one of them would make a career, and I’ve been lucky to join a long rumba line with all of them.

Out of all your credits — you’ve hosted game shows, voiced animated characters, written three bestselling books and put out two albums — is there a highlight?

I had a Broadway career for 15 years. I did over 2,000 performances as the lead in “Chicago” on Broadway, and over 1,000 as King Arthur in Monty Python’s “Spamalot” on Broadway and also in Vegas. I think my stay in Las Vegas, when I was doing King Arthur for two years at the Wynn Theater, was one of the most remarkable times in my life. 

What made that role so special?

I was doing “Family Feud” at the same time, so I was flying back and forth twice a day to get those things accomplished. It was also shortly after the birth of my son, so it was a wonderful, emotionally fulfilling period. To have a newborn grow up backstage was fun, too, because he picked up a lot. I think a lot of his personality comes from being around colorful people.

You’ve been involved with the nonprofit Childhelp for many years and come to Arizona frequently for it. How did you get involved with the organization?

Through going to their Drive the Dream fundraising gala. Once invited, I was overwhelmed by the calling that these two women have taken on in their lives — the challenge of becoming the most forceful child abuse resistance in America — in the world, actually. It’s extraordinary what they’ve accomplished with the millions of kids they have saved over the 60-plus years they’ve been doing it.

When you come to Arizona, what do you like to do?  

I married into a golf family, so golf is a big part of our dynamic. My wife’s parents have a place at the Biltmore Estates, so golf is always in the mix.

You’ve written three books of dog-related observations. What’s the most important lesson dogs have taught you?

If you look at all the stress in human life, it’s always because we are too concerned about the future or too worried about the past. Dogs live in the present moment and help to quiet us down. When you have your hands on a dog’s back, just quietly petting them, you have a tendency not to think in terms of time. You let the present experience become what’s important.  

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Shover Kackley and her 3-year-old black German Shepard, Dassher, are huge supporters of our animal community. Shover Kackley is a trustee of the Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust, which supports animals and nature as part of its mission, and she and Dassher recently chaired Arizona Science Center’s Galaxy Gala to support the new exhibit, Dogs! A Science Tail. 

So, when Shover Kackley asked Traci Chandler, the owner of Oh, Sugar! Events + Paperie, to help her create a party for her four-legged friend, Chandler unleashed her creativity and designed something to howl about.

Get a Tail Count 

Creating an invitation gets guests excited to come, sit, stay and play. Not only do paper invites prepare two- and four-legged friends for a fun romp in the grass, they also offer you a chance to design a party theme, which eases the planning process. Create something that reflects your style, whether it’s whimsical, traditional or paw-sitively pretty. And have fun with it! It’s a pet party, after all.

Tail-Wagging Fun 

When setting the table for dogs, the rules don’t apply. This is your chance to get wild and waggy. Chandler featured a child-height table so the dogs could walk up to the table for a nibble. She found travel pet feeders, set them on placemats made of artificial grass, filled each bowl with kibble, and set a freshly baked dog bone at each place setting. And make sure to have water on hand! 

Chandler also created custom place cards for each furry friend and placed them on individual blue pots planted with fresh ranunculus. She recommends using flowers because once the party is over, you can plant them in your garden for a vivid memory of a great day.

Celebrate Your Pup In Style

Chandler finds design inspiration in color schemes from invitation suites she creates for events. Dassher’s invitation featured bright primary colors, so the blooms that brought life to the party needed to pop. For a lively element, she adorned each vase with a puppy chew toy and brightly colored tennis balls.

Tails Down, Bottoms Up 

We love all things dog-related, and that includes a dog-themed cocktail bar. A trip to the  grocery store proved the perfect solution. Chandler curated several wines and beers that featured canine branding for a festive look at the bar. A signature cocktail is always a hit, and the ever-popular “Salty Dog” was the perfect fresh cocktail for Dassher’s soiree.

Catering to All Creatures Great and Small

We know pooches have giant appetites, but our two-legged friends do too. Chandler created a pup-inspired charcuterie board featuring cheese cut into canine shapes, carrots carved like dog bones and other tasty nibbles. She also served hot dogs and paw-tato chips in bags printed to match the party invitation. Dog bone pupp-eroni dippers were also a  hit — phyllo dough stuffed with mozzarella and pepperoni formed in the shape of dog bones and served with marinara. Sweet treats included shortbread cookies dipped and decorated like dog bones, bone-inspired rice crispy treats and sweet-and-salty puppy chow.

Belly Rubs and Tail Wags

A doggie treat bar takes the doggie bag to the next level. You can easily create a jolly guest experience by compiling some of your dog’s favorite treats to share with their furry friends. Chandler used pretty glass canisters to stash dog treats and fresh-baked dog cookies. Each guest got to create a to-go bag full of treats and toys for their precious pooch. Chandler also found pre-packaged puppy kits with essentials for traveling with pups. Tying a cute ribbon on the box that coordinated with the rest of the décor added an extra surprise for each guest to take home.

To learn more, visit ohsugarevents.com.

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That’s how Jodi Polanski, the founder and executive director of Lost Our Home Pet Rescue, describes the past few years. Some of that change is for the good; some not so much.

Lost Our Home was founded as a no-kill shelter in 2008 by Polanski, a former mortgage broker who witnessed people losing their homes in the fallout of the housing crisis. The work extended beyond people who were unfortunate in the real estate market to those in the kinds of crisis that might lead them to abandon their pets.

So when 2020 rolled around, Polanski and her team saw many of the same challenges they saw in 2008. And as the pandemic slowed, the foreclosures seen in 2008 were mirrored by the evictions of 2021 and 2022.

“We haven’t seen as many abandoned pets this time around, but there are a lot of stray pets right now,” she said. “People are just letting the dogs and cats loose outside, versus leaving them in homes.”

But Lost Our Home was nimble enough to get through the pandemic by expanding its foster programs and identifying ways to integrate itself into the community. As a result, it’s now enjoying a couple of significant growth opportunities.

First, they are taking a formerly leased space in their Tempe building and constructing a 4,000-square-foot pet clinic, allowing them to care for animals in-house as well as providing a new resource for pet owners in the community that may not be able to afford full vet care and training.

“It’ll be really great because right now, we have to load up all our pets into a van and transfer them to a veterinarian a few times a week,” Polanski said. “It’s a lot of work and a lot of stress on the animals, so having our own clinic will alleviate all of that.”

Once capacity ramps up at the clinic, the plan is to launch services such as low-cost pet vaccine clinics, pet training and dental care for the public, areas that are a significant need in the community.

But the biggest opportunity is on the open road. Lost Our Home and partner agencies Arizona Pet Project and Heidi’s Village just received a $1.5 million grant from the State of Arizona to take their programs and services statewide, including into rural and disadvantaged communities.

“We’ll be taking our temporary care program statewide, and we’re also going to be starting a daycare for the first time —like a day-boarding program for people who are homeless. But if they want to go to work, for example, there’s a place to bring their pet,” Polanski said.

Lost Our Home has also had a particular focus on working with victims of domestic violence, including partnerships with Sojourner Center and A New Leaf, both organizations that aid individuals and families working to escape domestic abuse.

“We’ve worked with domestic violence for almost 15 years,” she said. “We were one of the first organizations in the nation to have that kind of experience. Even with our temporary care program, we were the first in the nation to have that program. Now, we help organizations around the country start the program up and give them advice.”

Funding is always an issue for nonprofits, as is inflation —both from a payroll standpoint and the literal price of dog food, which Polanski said has gone up dramatically over the past few years.

“Our mission is helping people and pets in crisis,” she said. “We’re helping the most vulnerable people and pets in our society, and that’s an expensive endeavor. It’s not the easy cases that come and go —it’s the domestic violence victims, it’s the homeless, people who are really in crisis.”

But Polanski said there’s been a great deal of progress in the animal rescue world since she began working in it 15 years ago.

“There are a lot more resources now than there were in 2008, and a lot more understanding about the human-animal bond,” she said. “This idea has come into a great place in animal welfare and among human welfare agencies and government agencies. People understand that connection inthe human-animal bond, and they want to try to keep pets and people together.”

To learn more, visit lostourhome.org.

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1957. Dwight D. Eisenhower was president, the Cold War was in full bloom, Arizonans could buy a gallon of gas or a pound of hamburger for 30 cents, and the Arizona Humane Society opened its brand-new facility at Hatcher Road and 13th Avenue in Sunnyslope.

Its function was to take in unwanted animals and — with luck — adopt them out to new families. Although it’s been expanded several times, that 64-year-old facility is still chugging along, bursting at the seams.

The good news is that during that time, AHS has launched many initiatives to care for the most vulnerable in the community, including a bottle baby ICU and kitten nursery, the Parvo Puppy ICU and isolation kennels, traveling Emergency Animal Medical Technicians, and a pet resource center.

The bad news is, with a human population now 10 times greater than in 1957 and an animal population many times larger than that, the need has exploded.

Daryl and Chip Weil felt that explosion reverberate in their hearts.

Daryl grew up in an animal-loving family.

“My father was an animal whisperer,” she laughed. “Whether it was a robin with a broken wing or a lost baby chipmunk, he was on the case.”

Daryl followed the family passion, supporting AHS and joining the board in 1995.

Chip has always been an animal lover, too. Dogs were his thing, and his favorite, Binky, still conjures up smiles.

“Apparently, I wasn’t good at naming them,” he said.

Under the Weils’ fundraising leadership, the society was able to open the Nina Mason Pulliam South Mountain Campus in 2002. It vastly increased AHS’s ability to tend injured and ill animals, along with increasing the spay and neutering program.

Still, Maricopa County was second-worst in the country — only behind Los Angeles County — when it came to caring for stray, injured and unwanted animals.

Then the man who would change everything arrived on the scene.

After 16 years with the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in New York, Dr. Steven Hansen became the AHS top dog in 2013. Not only does his enthusiasm for the animals of Arizona shine through in every word he speaks, but his compassion and guiding hand have made measurable differences in Arizona animals’ lives.

In the last eight years alone, AHS has saved an additional 130,000 pets over previous time frames. That equates to an 83 percent decrease in euthanasia. Intake has also declined by 61 percent during that time, largely due to AHS’s Pet Resource Center. This call center’s kind and empathetic individuals connect pet owners with affordable resources.

Given what Arizonans and their pets have endured over the last two years, it’s hard to imagine what might have been without AHS.

“Our goal is to always keep animals in their homes,” Hansen said.

Providing discounted veterinary services and supplies helps them do that. But Hansen had a bigger vision, not limited by determination, but by space. He dreamed of a new facility that would expand animal welfare. A facility where infectious diseases (previously fatal for lack of vaccines and treatment) could be controlled by ventilated air, scrubbed free of germs. One with an evening-hours clinic at affordable prices, kids camps for learning about animal care, and adult educational opportunities.

Hansen’s vision has become the Rob & Melani Walton Papago Park Campus. And to make it a reality, Hansen could imagine no one better to serve as honorary chairs of the fundraising campaign cabinet than AHS’s previous heroes, Chip and Daryl Weil.

The Weils generously accepted the challenge.

So how does this campaign differ? First, it comes with a much larger goal than the South Mountain Campus had: $49 million.

“This used to be a vacation destination,” Chip said. “People came to visit and then went back to their hometowns to donate to their local charities. Raising a large amount was difficult, mostly coming from big businesses, like banks and newspapers.”

Increasingly, local individuals are stepping up.

“The Valley population has almost doubled since 2002. Wealth has expanded, too, and that’s resulted in the creation of foundations and individuals’ ability to contribute,” Chip said.

Three foundations — the Rob and Melani Walton Foundation, the Lazin Animal Foundation and the Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust — laid the groundwork, along with Mike and Cindy Watts, who donated the land. Additional funding is still being raised. Both the Weils and Dr. Hansen are quick to point out that every donor dollar counts, whether it’s $5 or $5,000.

So, what will those dollars accomplish? They will create an animal facility like no other in the country.

“We are transforming what it means to be an animal in Arizona. The future of animal welfare is happening here. It’s happening now. The idea of an animal shelter as a ‘pound’ is a historic relic,” he said.

When AHS broke ground on the 72,000-square-foot facility last November — conveniently located near the juncture of the 202 and 143 freeways — it was with a very long list of features and benefits. When completed (projected to be in 2023), a pair of two-story buildings will be connected by a pedestrian “canyon,” all thoughtfully designed for pets and people.

On one side, at the Nina Mason Pulliam P.E.T. Center, adopters will have a calm meeting space to get to know the animals, which will come from kennels that are full of light and have easy access to enrichment spaces for out-of-kennel time. Cats and dogs are separated by sound walls and have separate airflow systems to reduce stress.

The building on the other side is the Watts Family Medical Center, featuring the trauma hospital. Its size will allow for the treatment of thousands more animals each year, reducing the number needlessly euthanized in shelters across the state. The new campus will support shelters throughout Arizona and beyond. “We’re planning on collaboration, not duplication of services,” Hansen said.

In that vein, AHS will now have multiple locations, each serving a critical mission. The new one at Papago Park will replace and improve on the majority of operations at the Sunnyslope location, which will continue to serve as a community hospital with vet services. Meanwhile, the Nina Mason Pulliam South Mountain Campus will continue its critical role in the mission to rescue, heal, adopt and advocate for animals.

Equally exciting will be the collaboration with students from the brand-new University of Arizona veterinary program. There’s no teaching hospital on the Tucson campus, but the Papago Park Campus will give them the experience they need.

“There’s currently a shortage of veterinarians across the country,” Hansen said. “In addition to other valuable experience, students will receive field training for animal cruelty and exposure to shelter medicine.”

Dr. Hansen and the Weils have a bit of a mutual admiration society. The good doctor describes the couple as impactful and passionate. Without them, he feels the project might not have happened. They orchestrated the capital campaign cabinet, have hosted multiple events, and have helped educate other donors.

As for the Weils, Daryl said, “Dr. Hansen is a terrific leader. Whatever comes out of his mouth is worth listening to. He’s willing to go anywhere to talk about this project and the animals. I think it was Dr. Hansen’s leadership that really drew Chip into this project.”

Or maybe it was Gizmo. Several years ago, at an early capital campaign meeting, one of the other cabinet members came with a small carrier containing a dog she’d been fostering. Daryl asked to see it, and out strolled a fuzzball with fur pantaloons. At about 5 pounds, he had had a rough start to life, found wounded in a gutter with myriad health issues. With a Rottweiler bark in a tiny body, he made Daryl fall in love. So did Chip, and Gizmo has been to every cabinet meeting since.

Just as Gizmo found his forever home, the fabulous Papago Park Campus is the Arizona Humane Society’s forever home, made possible through the love and generosity of so many, to transform animal welfare for thousands of pets to come.

To learn more, visit azhumane.org.

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Ten years ago, the Valley had a really big problem when it came to homeless pets — there were just too many of them.

Animal shelters were struggling to keep up with the influx of intakes. And sadly, there were far more pets than homes for them, resulting in many of the animals being euthanized. In 2012, about 37,600 stray and surrendered dogs and cats were euthanized in Maricopa County shelters — a staggering number.

It was a sign of a growing city’s growing pains, and animal supporters in the community knew something needed to be done. That’s when the Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust teamed up with the Alliance for Companion Animals to launch a program called Fix.Adopt.Save., with the goal of reducing the number of unwanted pets through spay and neuter programs, increased focus on adoptions, and public education on responsible pet ownership.

“Fix.Adopt.Save. is the embodiment of so much that Nina Mason Pulliam loved during her life,” said Lisa Shover Kackley, a trustee with the Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust. “She loved animals, and she understood the human-animal connection, and she was also a champion for education at all levels for the betterment of all … it’s probably the best, cohesive statement about what Fix.Adopt.Save. is to have the joining of the Alliance for Companion Animals and our partners.

“We had huge numbers of animals that were being euthanized because there wasn’t kennel space and homes, and spay-neuter was not as strongly embraced as it is today,” she said.

Launched in partnership with animal agencies across the Valley — and with $4 million in seed money from the Pulliam Trust and PetSmart Charities — Fix.Adopt.Save. set out to make sweeping changes to the Valley’s animal welfare. While it may sound like a process — get the pet fixed, get the pet adopted, save the pet — the program’s moniker actually represented three separate focus areas.

“It’s each an individual category that has multiple programs and components in it,” said Sonia Hernandez, project manager of Fix.Adopt.Save. “Obviously, the ‘fix’ is spay and neuter, the primary focus and where 99 percent of our funding goes. It’s the one direct, impactful service that decreases the number of animals going into shelters.”

“Fixing” pets is a matter of mathematics. For example, a single female cat left unattended can result in the birth of more than 200 cats in a single year, a factor of population growth beyond the exponential. Recognizing that not every feral pet is going to find a home, Fix.Adopt.Save. focused not only on pets in shelters, but also on ones roaming the streets to prevent this massive population jump.

Fixing is also a key part of the adoption process, ensuring that pet owners taking animals from shelters will not end up with, ahem, more than they bargained for. The behavioral aspects of fixing pets are significant as well — a spayed or neutered animal will not exhibit many of the more aggressive or annoying traits of a species, like marking territory or lashing out at other animals.

Saving pets involves more than just finding them a home. It means subsidizing medical care for pet owners who otherwise might have no other alternative than to put down a sick pet. And it means educating the public on their options for animal adoption, care and even surrender.

The results have been astonishing. Over the past decade, euthanasia rates in Maricopa County have dropped almost 90 percent, and intake at animal shelters has fallen nearly 60 percent. It’s an amazing turnaround that has saved the lives of pets and helped find happy homes for thousands of pets and pet-owning families.

“When I first began working with Fix.Adopt.Save., I realized this is really important work that a lot of other organizations that work in animal welfare don’t have,” said Dr. Nellie Goetz, chair of the Alliance for Companion Animals. “I think that’s central to the continued success and continued education of the program.”

There’s much more to be done. Maricopa County’s population continues to grow rapidly, and the sometimes transient nature of the population means that public education efforts must continue on an ongoing basis. The sheer number of new people means new pets as well, not to mention the side effects of the pandemic — delayed treatment of pets, a wave of adoptions and more.

But Fix.Adopt.Save. is up for the task.

“It’s putting that spay and neuter education and medical funding out into the community to try to get ahead of it,” Hernandez said. “Hopefully, five years from now, we’ll try to stay stable and maintain the levels we’re at now, considering our population.”

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4:15 A.M. >> HUSTLE, BUSTLE + QUIET

I begin my day by going to the gym for an hour in the morning. I must be out of the house by 7 a.m. to drop off my 13-year-old identical twin girls at the bus stop for school. My husband takes my 16-year-old stepdaughter to work, and my 17-year-old son drives himself to school. I head into work from there so I can be one of the first ones in the office. I use this time to walk the kennels — even the dogs are quiet! I also spend time journaling, goal setting, planning for the day and prioritizing what needs to be done during the week. This precious time with few distractions allows me to think about big things, such as how to reduce stress levels for the cats and improve their housing, or how to reduce the length of stay for the animals.

8 A.M. >> A JOB OF PEOPLE CARE

Since I’m relatively new in my role, I spend a lot of time on the organization’s people and culture pieces, as these are important to me. I visit our two clinics that are adjacent to each other and share a surgery suite. One clinic serves homeless animals and the other, MD Petcare, is public-facing. I am hands-on because we are currently without a medical director, and I am leading the medical team. We are trying to build a pipeline and more diverse medical team, so I manage the recruiting, interviewing and hiring of candidates. I like being at the clinics to see the team in action and learn more about what they do.

My philosophy as a leader is to spend one-on-one time with my 10 direct reports. We discuss how we can work together to support their teams, what help they need to be a better manager and any struggles they are experiencing.

We are here to rescue animals that have suffered tremendous trauma by providing them with the care, love and compassion they need to get better and ultimately be available for adoption. This can take a toll on the team emotionally, and they can experience compassion fatigue. I am conscious of giving my staff time to connect with each other and decompress.

10 A.M. >> AN ORGANIZATION BUILT ON RELATIONSHIPS

Connecting and meeting with donors is a big part of my role, whether via emails, phone calls or tours. I take donors on tours twice a week. It is a great way for me to learn more about the 50-year history of the organization and connect with our passionate donors.

I continue to learn the business of animal welfare and our various programs — adoptions, behavior, foster, medical — a full range of services for animals. I try to balance the day learning as much as I can about the team and programs, including identifying gaps and growth areas, with fundraising. I focus on what I can do as a CEO to help the organization move forward and am humble in recognizing what I don’t know. I do not need to know everything. I have a strong team of veterinarians and staff who are experts. I am lucky and privileged to be here.

1:30 P.M. >> FOCUS ON A COMMUNITY’S FURRY FRIENDS

We are the only organization in the state that received a grant from PetSmart Charities to conduct a needs assessment of the 160,000 underserved Latinx community living near our shelter. It’s a long-term project to invest in communities of color by giving pet owners resources, so they don’t have to surrender their animals. We want to do a better job of meeting their needs and identifying their barriers to accessing veterinary care. My outreach staff and I are identifying and meeting with potential partners, such as New Pathways for Youth, Mountain Park Health Center and faith-based organizations, asking them to join this effort by distributing our survey to their pet owners.

3 P.M. >> SUCCESS IS THE CAT’S MEOW

We are seeing a dramatic increase in the number of animals coming into the shelter system because people are struggling economically, impacting their ability to care for their animals. We are incorporating shelter intervention strategies by providing case management and additional support so an animal can remain in its home. For example, our AAWL Cares program covers costs for those animals that might be surrendered due to medical expenses.

Despite COVID and staffing challenges, there is a lot we can be proud of. More animals were fostered in 2021 than the previous year. We found permanent, loving homes for 3,600 animals and were able to save more animals with severe medical needs last year than the prior year. We also restarted our monthly vaccine clinics that were on hiatus because of COVID. There is a tremendous need, because public vaccine events couldn’t take place during the pandemic, resulting in an increase in some infectious diseases.

One of the things that makes us unique is our behavior team. We have certified dog and feline behavior managers, and we intend to grow this team. We have hired a full-time foster family coordinator whose focus is to recruit more foster families so animals can move into a home environment and reduce their stress.

5:30 P.M. >> PAW-SOME, QUALITY FAMILY TIME

Since I come into work early, I head home because I feel it’s important for our family to eat dinner together. There are seven of us in our blended family — four kids, my husband and mother-in-law. You learn all kinds of things during dinner. Whenever teenagers are ready to talk, they open up! The remainder of the evening is focused on the kids doing their homework, and I listen to guided meditation with my daughters to wind down from my hectic days.

To learn more, go to aawl.org.

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