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. Tom Evans I Contributing Editor The Fix.Adopt.Save. program dramatically reduces pet euthanasia and shelter intakes NEXT DOOR { ahead of the curve } DIFFERENCE A DECADE WHAT A MAKES | 20 | FURRY FRIENDS 2022 Photo courtesy of Altered Tails

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 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 sTrust teamed up with PetSmart Charities and 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, FURRY FRIENDS 2022 | 21 | Photo courtesy of Fix.Adopt.Save. Photo courtesy of Altered Tails