TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Animal shelters across southern Arizona are seeing a surge in lost pets following Fourth of July fireworks celebrations, and Pima Animal Care Center is asking the community to help reunite animals with their owners before the shelter reaches a breaking point.
If you did lose your pet during the weekend, click here to go to the PACC website.
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Just one day after the holiday, PACC took in 36 dogs and 21 cats — nearly double the typical number for a Sunday.
"We want your pet to get back home," Nikki Reck said.
Shelter workers say many of the animals are clearly family pets that were frightened by fireworks and separated from their owners. Staff say the shelter is already full and doubling up kennels to make space, warning that if intake numbers keep rising, difficult decisions may have to be made for harder-to-place dogs.
"If we could get more people to understand that, that friendly dog is probably your neighbors, I think we would be in a much better shape," Reck said.
PACC is asking the community to help reunite pets with their owners before bringing friendly strays to the shelter. Reck says most lost pets are found less than 2 miles from home. Neighbors can help by checking for open gates, posting flyers, knocking on doors, and searching for owners nearby.
"We're going to put a deadline of a week and if anyone can come in and you're willing to do the hard work please we will help you with the dog," Reck said.
Pet owners looking for missing animals are encouraged to check the shelter's lost-and-found page frequently, since new animals are added throughout the day.
"You can save so many lives if you fostered some of these dogs," Reck said.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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Marc Monroy joined KGUN 9 as a multimedia journalist after moving from KGUN 9’s sister station, KXXV, in Waco, Texas. He graduated from California State University, Northridge, in 2024 with a degree in journalism. A native of Southern California and a bilingual reporter, Marc is excited to serve Southern Arizona and looks forward to connecting with neighbors in the community. Share your story ideas and important issues with Marc by emailing marc.monroy@kgun9.com or by connecting on Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook.
