Pima Animal Care Center (Animal Shelter) — Local services in Tucson

I adopted a kitten from an adoption event at Petco on 6/18/2023. I was NOT given a full medical history at the time of adoption. The PACC lady said she’d email me her records after the adoption event.

At the event, my sister & I were not allowed to interact with the kitten, play with her, hold her or inspect her in any manner. It was basically just a point at the kitten we were interested in, fill out paperwork and get out of the way for the next person and go home.

Once we got home with her, we were able to see that her eye is bulging, has a white film on it(not the 3rd eyelid), and has a discharge. Since we weren’t allowed at the adoption event to see her closely(she was kept in a dark carrier with other kittens), we did not see that there was something significantly worse than normal conjunctivitis going on.

Our family vet on 6/19/2023 recommended she be seen by an ophthalmologist. She performed a test and found that she is blind in one eye. Her eye is bulging, leaking and causing discomfort. It is NOT conjunctivitis. We went back to PACC and their vet only wants to treat her for conjunctivitis. The PACC vet didn’t even perform the right test and claims she can see.

On Monday, PACC finally released her medical records and we found that they knew she had an ongoing issue since April. They just kept treating her for conjunctivitis since April with zero improvement. This was never told to us. Our family vet says it’s a much more serious issue and that the eye may need to be removed.

This has been my first experience adopting from PACC. I have adopted quite a few cats from other organizations in my previous state and never have had an issue. Based on the considerable run around I have had to experience with a full day of loss of work as I went back and forth trying to determine the issue and given an incorrect diagnosis by the PACC vet, I cannot recommend that anyone adopts from this organization. Frankly, I can’t even recommend that anyone uses them for their vet needs since their vet can’t even diagnose the problem correctly.

It is unfathomable to me that an organization that claims to care about the animals it takes in cannot even give these animals the appropriate care when there are medical issues. And to not have available vital medical records for adoptive pet parents at the time of adoption so they can make informed decisions is criminal at best.

It’s not surprising that there was a news report from channel 4 on last night’s news about PACC having issues with disease among the animals in its care. If I had seen that report before the event, I would have never adopted from PACC.

I want PACC to take responsibility and do the right thing for this kitten. Since her medical records show that she has had this condition since April, pet insurance will not cover the care of an ophthalmologist. It is considered a pre-existing condition. It will also not cover surgery to remove the eye(if needed).

We will see if PACC does right by her, but I honestly don’t put much faith in them at this point. Whomever this Dr. Mitchell is at PACC that has misdiagnosed her condition, should be ashamed of themself and be held accountable. Dr. Mitchell should not be caring for any animal at all.

Until PACC reassesses its adoption process and medical care for all of its animals, no one should consider adopting there. You will either be surrendering your animal back or be out of thousands of dollars in medical costs because PACC is negligent in providing the proper care of its animals.

Just because PACC has a fancy building, it does not mean they are a good facility. My experience thus far proves they aren’t good. You should be very wary of any animal...

They seem to have a difference in rules around there. We were on the match making list for a certain kind of kitty. It had been approximately 2 months we were on that list. Well on this particular day, PACC contacted us by text 2.5 hours before they closed that this kitten was available. Just so happened that my daughter was graduating that very night, so unfortunately we couldn't make it. I pleaded with Lorraine to please reserve her for us, we would pay or do whatever since we had been waiting so long...she said no. Rather insisted no, even after we hung up, she called back to say no. So I for sure thought the kitty would be gone in the morning. Low and behold she was still on the website the next day, so we headed down to PACC, which took half hour, in hopes of adopting the kitty. Even got there 15 minutes early then the doors opened so we could be the first ones in, which we were. Only to be told the kitty had been adopted 20 min earlier. We were dumbfounded, because the doors weren't even open 20 min ago...I then asked to speak to a manager which happened to be Lorraine, whom we spoke with the night before and she said she would look into the situation. Come to find out they had put her on reserve for someone else who worked there with no money down, even though Lorraine insisted that's something they couldnt do just but wouldnt do for us the night before. Lorraine told us she would give us a chance but in the meanwhile there was someone else who had scanned in to adopt her so they had first option. Fortunately, that couple was also told that kitty had already been adopted and had already left. We had actually seen them voice their concern about the kitty still being on the websites and got there first thing as well and also found out the kitty was adopted 20 minutes before they opened. As they were walking out I told them I was waiting for the manager, Lorraine, to make a complaint about that very issue. The man just kept walking and didn't listen to anything I had to say and the lady listened but followed the man out anyway. So even though they had already left Lorraine insisted they still needed to contact them first because they signed in first. Dispite the fact that we were through the doors first and that we were actually contacted the night before and us getting delayed in signing in because of the WiFi issues. All and all we got the kitty. I'm so happy I didn't give up on getting her, once told she had already been adopted. It should be a rule across the board that if one person can't put a cat on hold then nobody else should be able to either. But they got to pick and choose who they would hold the cat for. Lorraine also said one of the perks of working there is they get first choice. Which seems to be an ok rule if that pet is adopted before ever being made public to adopt OR if it has been made public then at the end of the day. But it was very emotional having the my hopes torn apart by saying they couldn't hold the cat for us, then having hope, then told she's been adopted, then told she was only on hold and we had a chance, then told someone was in line before us and then finally getting the ok to get my sweet little kitty..it all worked Ll in the end but it was all unnecessary emotions because worker choose to follow rules at their own...

First of all, I want to say that pima animal care center is making great strides helping these animals. The shelter doesn't ruin them, the owners do. To the person that surrendered Buddy a 7 yr male Wirehair terrier in December of 2023. I call him Blue. He is a wonderful dog who will never be capable of experiencing the full capacity of love because of what you had done to him in the seven years that you had him. Daily, he still lives through your ritualistic abuse. Only now, instead of your heavy hand, to greet him out of his PTSD, Now he has love and ultimate understanding. Thank you for surrendering him. It's a shame you didn't do so the minute you started using him as your Target. He will never be able to be held without expecting your heavy hand. I know what you did to hiM. I ALSO KNOW Any bond that he had formed with the other dogs that you kept you would not allow, because my sweet dogs love him and want to play and he is so uncomfortable with it. He hides all day in the yard. I put his bed, water and food out there under his favorite shade tree. He loves to sit in my lap on car rides. Everytime I approach him he is expecting abuse. I will always accept and nurture this dog. I will never repremand or punish him. Even when he freeks out because another dogs leg touched him in the car. Thank God for my very gentle and understanding dogs as well that accept him and give him his space. I believe the only person that he was ever truly capable of hurting was you. You should be grateful that he didn't mauI you. I pray that someday he will be comfortable laying next to me. Just when he starts to relax , he starts growling. I bet that's when you would start hurting him, When he was just about to relax. I hope that you surrender the rest of your dogs and get yourself into some therapy because you are not a good person. You do not deserve dogs. You disabled his capacity for love, and for that, I hate you. Im glad he finally had enough and scared you so bad you gave him to the shelter. That is the best grace you could have ever done him. You broke him and I can't fix him but I will keep him and love him until his dying day and he will never experience in real-time What he goes through every day because of your ritualistic abuse that broke your dog. He is so amazingly smart and sweet. He could have been the best friend you ever had, and you ruined him. Thank you, PACC, for holding on to him for so long and giving him a shot at a life without abuse. I CAN NOT UNDO his past, but I will certainly love him beyond the capacities of his previous owner, and I pity her remaining dogs. She doesn't deserve them. I sure wish we could put animal abusers to sleep instead of the dogs whose spirits were broken so much they had to be put down, or sit in a shelter for months and months with no foster. Love and care from the angels at PACC Is the closest that some of these dogs will ever get to the loving care that they so...