Pinal County officials celebrated a significant milestone with the ribbon-cutting ceremony of their newly renovated and expanded Animal Care and Control facility at 1150 S Eleven Mile Corner Rd in Casa Grande, with Director Audra Michael presenting the facility’s achievements at the State of the County address on January 27th. The $7-million project transforms the former shelter into a modern animal care center, renovating the existing 4,200 sq. ft. Administration Building and adding 6,000 sq. ft. of new space.
The new addition features a large open lobby with bright and spacious visitor waiting areas, adoption and admission sections, a cat display area, dog meet-and-greet rooms, and a complete animal services clinic. Behind the scenes, much-needed infrastructure improvements have been made to sewer drains and septic systems, while all kennel doors have been replaced. Outdoor upgrades include new visitor parking, secured employee parking, a dog-walking path around the complex, secure outdoor dog play areas with covered canopies, and a CCTV Security System.
“This facility was needed because if you had ever come to the shelter before, we had a teeny tiny little lobby. It didn’t look welcoming, it was small, it was embarrassing honestly,” explained Director Audra Michael. “Now with the growth of the county, we’re able to offer a much better place for them to come and explore. It’s much more inviting, it’s bright, it’s nice, it’s welcoming.”
A cornerstone of the expansion is the new state-of-the-art clinic. “Now we have this state-of-the-art clinic that will allow us to find a problem with an animal and be able to treat it as soon as possible, so that we don’t have to drive them to another veterinarian possibly an hour and a half away to do x-rays, blood work – stuff like that,” Director Michael explained.
The facility improvements include indoor meet-and-greet areas, which Director Michael notes as a significant upgrade. “Anybody that’s been here before to meet a dog in the summer, it was hot and people would be sitting outside and we would have to give them water constantly.” The renovation also features a dedicated cat area, moving them from their previous location “between the buildings of dogs,” which Director Michael noted was “very stressful for cats.” The new space provides a quieter environment where, “as cat owners know, cats like to look outside, they like to look in windows, they like to see what’s going on.”
In her State of the County address, Director Michael reported that in 2024, the shelter took in 2,393 dogs, with 1,682 being strays and 457 owner surrenders. Of these, 1,200 were adopted, 336 returned to their owners, and 622 transferred to rescue partners. The facility also handled 1,069 cats, with 851 being strays and 84 owner surrenders. Of the cats, 334 were adopted and 396 were transferred to rescue partners.
The facility serves as the county’s primary animal care and rabies control center. “With us, you get an animal that’s been vetted. We vaccinate them on impound, we microchip, we get them altered, and we do all this for mostly fee-waived or for a $15 license,” explained Director Michael.
Looking ahead to 2025, Deputy Director Katrina Rodrigues outlined plans to be fully staffed after a challenging 2024, open educational camps for students and youth, and expand low-cost vaccination clinics for the community. The facility will also continue its Pet Food Bank and community outreach efforts.
For those interested in supporting the facility, opportunities range from hands-on dog walking to virtual volunteering with social media and photo editing. Whether through adoption, fostering, or donations, community members can help support the shelter’s mission. The shelter is located at 1150 S Eleven Mile Corner Rd, Casa Grande, and is offering waived adoption fees for animals seven years and older, $25 adoptions for animals 6 months and older, and $50 adoptions for animals under 6 months.
