Maricopa County Animal Care & Control is working to boost dog adoptions this month to bring shelter capacity down to an optimum level.

“Even when we see great adoption numbers, the number of dogs coming in each day outweigh the amount leaving,” Kim Powell, MCACC’s communications supervisor, said.

In August, she said, the county took in an average of 50 dogs a day, but there were 32 adoptions daily, bringing capacity at shelters to about 1,000 dogs.

“That’s just not sustainable. In my two years at MCACC, this is the most dogs I’ve seen at once,” Powell said. “That’s why we need a September surge in adoptions.”

MCACC has set a goal of 1,100 dog adoptions in September, or an average of 36 dogs per day.

At the current dog intake rate, that would mean about 150 fewer dogs in the shelter by the month's end, officials said.

Here is where dogs can be met and adopted:

East Shelter: 1920 S. Lewis in Mesa.

West Shelter: 2500 S. 27th Ave., Phoenix.

Heidi's Village: 600 N. 40th St., Phoenix.

Search for adoptable dogs online: https://www.maricopa.gov/214/Adopt-a-Pet

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