NEXT DOOR { ahead of the curve } feral pet is going to find a home, Fix.Adopt.Save. focused not only on pets in shelters, but also on ones roaming the streets to prevent this massive population jump. Fixing is also a key part of the adoption process, ensuring that pet owners taking animals from shelters will not end up with, ahem, more than they bargained for. The behavioral aspects of fixing pets are significant as well — a spayed or neutered animal will not exhibit many of the more aggressive or annoying traits of a species, like marking territory or lashing out at other animals. Saving pets involves more than just finding them a home. It means subsidizing medical care for pet owners who otherwise might have no other alternative than to put down a sick pet. And it means educating the public on their options for animal adoption, care and even surrender. The results have been astonishing. Over the past decade, euthanasia rates in Maricopa County have dropped almost 90 percent, and intake at animal shelters has fallen nearly 60 percent. It’s an amazing turnaround that has saved the lives of pets and helped find happy homes for thousands of pets and pet-owning families. “When I first began working with Fix.Adopt.Save., I realized this is really important work that a lot of other organizations that work in animal welfare don’t have,” said Dr. Nellie Goetz, chair of the Alliance for Companion Animals. “I think that’s central to the continued success and continued education of the program.” There’s much more to be done. Maricopa County’s population continues to grow rapidly, and the sometimes transient nature of the population means that public education efforts must continue on an ongoing basis. The sheer number of new people means new pets as well, not to mention the side effects of the pandemic — delayed treatment of pets, a wave of adoptions and more. But Fix.Adopt.Save. is up for the task. “It’s putting that spay and neuter education and medical funding out into the community to try to get ahead of it,” Hernandez said. “Hopefully, five years from now, we’ll try to stay stable and maintain the levels we’re at now, considering our population.” Community, Philanthropy & Lifestyle A Frontdoors Media Publication | Home of The Red Book OCTOBER 2021 frontdoorsmedia.com While navigating the COVID crisis, Mark Tarbell revised his recipe for success A Taste For MORE

FURRY FRIENDS 2022 | 23 | LEE COURTNEY with her French bulldog, Ferrarri, and her Arabian horse, Ssequin Portrait Pawesome