SC Humane Society in danger of closing

After about 20 years of serving the community, the Santa Cruz Humane Society is in danger of closing its doors.

Only a large donation can save the facility, said Stephanie Campbell, the executive director. Campbell estimates that the facility can stay open only another two months or so with current funds. Then, the plight of the 15 cats and 30 dogs is up in the air.

"We don't know what will happen to them if we close down," Campbell said. "We'd have to call other shelters and hold adopt-athons."

The shelter is a no-kill facility, and Campbell said that it has been difficult to find homes for the animals that live there, although three kittens and 11 dogs found homes recently at the Tubac Arts Festival.

"I have dogs that have lived there for over a year," she said.

Last year, Campbell found herself in similar financial dire straits, but a $100,000 donation saved the facility.

Campbell said that money evaporated as a result of a misguided faith that owners who once used the veterinary facilities at the shelter would return.

"We hired a full-time vet thinking that like two years ago when we had a full-time vet, we would bring in enough money to support ourselves," she said.

With the donation, Campbell hired a full-time veterinarian from the Virgin Islands, paid for the doctor to become certified in Arizona, bought vaccines and medicine, updated the pharmacy and "got her ducks in a row," to receive a premise license, a document required by the state to serve the public with a full-time vet. Then they waited.

The problem was, Campbell said, that owners that used to come to the shelter for veterinary services had been referred elsewhere during the two years the shelter went without. When the full-time vet came back, the customers didn't.

When the money finally ran low enough, Campbell released the full-time doctor and hired another one about a month ago to work two days per week.

Even without advertising, Campbell said the phone has been ringing off the hook with people wanting to get low-cost spays and neuters for their pets. The waiting list is about three weeks, she said.

"Now that we've made that change, another donation will sustain us," she said. "People will wait for the low-cost spays and neuters. That's the main service we offer to the community."

But the spays and neuters don't make money. The adoption fee is $70. Campbell said it costs her about $100 every time the shelter gets a new dog.

That doesn't cover the costs of food and other necessities.

To that end, she is hoping to add a for-profit side to the Humane Society to subsidize the non-profit adoptions.

"We have a professional groomer and trainer as well as the vet," she said. There is also a tentative plan in the works to start a thrift store to subsidize the shelter, but none of this can happen without a donation.

"The problem is, there's very little commerce in this community," she said. "I can't get corporate sponsors. Ninety percent of the donations come from surrounding communities like Rio Rico and Tubac, but 90 percent of the animals come from Nogales. It's difficult."