AHS & Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust Celebrate 20 Transformative Years

Nearly $6M in Funding Results in 90,000 Pet Adoptions, Expanded Veterinary Clinic & Valley's First-Ever Pet Resource Center

PHOENIX, April 12, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Arizona Humane Society (AHS) and Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust (Trust) are celebrating 20 years of lifesaving efforts devoted to saving Arizona's homeless pets and providing affordable resources for pet owners in our community.  

Beginning in 2001, the Trust was a leading funder of AHS' Nina Mason Pulliam South Mountain Campus located at 15^th Avenue and Dobbins Road in South Phoenix. Since then, the campus – located on 20 acres of land donated by the Bisgrove Family – has been home to nearly 90,000 pet adoptions.

Additionally, the Trust was critical in establishing AHS' expanded Margaret McAllister Brock Veterinary Clinic at its South Mountain Campus in 2011 for pet owners in need. Today, AHS' Veterinary Clinic serves low-income pet owners and cares for more than 6,500 pets annually. With a continued focus on helping people in need and protecting animals, along with the Trust's backing, AHS established Arizona's first-ever Pet Resource Center – a call center devoted to keeping pets and people together. AHS' Pet Resource Center fields upwards of 100,000 calls each year, providing resources for thousands of pet owners.

"Our 20-year partnership with the Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust has allowed us to focus our efforts on both ends of the leash," said Arizona Humane Society President and CEO Dr. Steven Hansen. "By implementing programs for both pets and their owners, we are better able to address the root of pet ownership problems in our community as opposed to simply putting a Band-Aid on it. In doing so, tens of thousands of pets and owners have benefited."

The overall result has been a 61 percent decrease in animal intake and an 83 percent decrease in euthanasia, taking Maricopa County from one of the worst places to be a homeless pet to one of the best.

Now, 20 years later, the Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust is once again a leading funder in Maricopa County's companion animal transformation as AHS begins construction on its Rob and Melani Walton Papago Park Campus. Scheduled to open in early 2023, the 72,000 square-foot campus will be located at the juncture of the 202 and 143 freeways in the Papago Park Buttes. It will feature two main buildings: the Nina Mason Pulliam P.E.T. Center and the Watts Family Medical Complex, anchored by the Lazin Animal Foundation Trauma Hospital.

The complex will offer medical and behavioral interventions, treatment, and care at a level not yet seen in the United States. Additionally, the Campus will serve as a full teaching hospital for emerging veterinary students at a time when the veterinary profession is experiencing an extreme shortage. Additionally, the trauma hospital's expanded triage area will enable AHS to treat thousands more homeless pet patients than AHS' current Sunnyslope Campus, which first opened in 1957.

"Nina Mason Pulliam loved animals of every kind and had a strong understanding of the human-animal connection. She would be thrilled to know this campus that bears her name has contributed to nearly 100,000 pet adoptions, as well as kept animals with their human families during challenging times," said Lisa Shover Kackley, trustee of the Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust. "We're proud of the work that continues to be accomplished at the South Mountain Campus and to be stepping with Arizona Humane Society into a new era of animal care."

The new campus, along with AHS' Nina Mason Pulliam South Mountain Campus and mobile veterinary clinics, will allow AHS to expand its lifesaving services to meet the region's rapidly growing population—a population currently experiencing the highest growth rate in the country. Those critical medical services and an unwavering commitment to keeping pets and people together will ensure that the pets and people of Maricopa County and beyond will get the care, resources, and support they need for decades to come.

To learn more about AHS' Rob & Melani Walton Papago Park Campus, please visit www.azhumane.org/new. Additional renderings of the Papago Park Campus can be accessed here.

Since 1957, the Arizona Humane Society (AHS) has been saving the lives of the Valley's most vulnerable pets. Guided by our Ethical No-Kill Philosophy™, we save thousands of pets every year through a system of care that includes AHS' trauma hospital and intensive care units, comprehensive medical and foster programs and behavior intervention programs. Our community-based model comprised of a Pet Resource Center, affordable veterinary services, proactive outreach, community support and partner collaboration, keeps pets in loving homes where they belong. Our visionary approach to animal welfare has transformed the Valley from being the second-worst place to be a homeless pet to one of the best. And coming early 2023, our new Rob & Melani Walton Papago Park Campus will expand our lifesaving efforts by the thousands. Learn more at azhumane.org.

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Contact Information:
Bretta Nelson, Public Relations Manager
Cell: 480.748.8640

SOURCE Arizona Humane Society