"Pima Paws for Life" animal shelter rescues sick and injured pets, at risk of closing due to lack of funds

Pima Paws for Life, an animal shelter dedicated to caring for sick and injured pets for the past decade, is now facing the threat of closure due to financial difficulties — a challenge underscoring a crisis affecting animal shelters across the state.

"It's very scary," said shelter manager Alicia Carrizoza.

Pima Paws for Life opened its doors in 2013. They said, during this time, they saved thousands of pets that would have been euthanized at Pima Animal Care Center because of serious medical issues.

Now, PACC treats most diseases and Pima Paws for Life continues to help wounded animals, like Wallee, a dog that was attacked by two larger dogs. When the rescue brought Wallee in, the skin surrounding his ear was gone.

Maria Staubs

“When I hear of one being abused, I just I get so angry and upset and you know. I want to make it all better," Carrizoza said.

But, making it better for rescues is difficult when medical costs pile up — and, they aren't the only local animal shelter struggling to make ends meet.

“It's pretty devastating," said Kimberly Walker, the president of Pima Paws for Life. "Right now, the entire rescue community in Tucson is really, really struggling."

Without donations, the shelter's doors could close.

"We have a core of volunteers and donors who have been with us from the start and we absolutely adore them. They believe in us. They believe in what we do here and they have always been there for us, but they cannot single handedly solve this problem," Walker said.

If an animal shelter or rescue does close, Kayleigh Murdock, PACC's public information officer, said they work to find homes for the pets in their care.

But, Walker said, many of the animals at Pima Paws for Life have behavioral or medical issues, making it hard to place them with a home.

“At times we have seen rescues or shelters go under where they have had to surrender pets to the county shelter's care," Murdock said.

However, PACC is still facing with overcapacity challenges, and Murdock said "having many pets come in at one time does put a great strain on our resources and our space.”

That's why, Walker said, they hope people know the shelter exists and a donation as little as five dollars makes a difference.

“It's very financially consuming and time consuming to take care of these animals, but we feel that they deserve that, you know, they deserve that second chance," Walker said.