New Arizona Humane Society campus opens in Phoenix

PHOENIX — The Arizona Humane Society (AHS) has opened its brand new five-acre Rob and Melani Walton Papago Park Campus in Phoenix.

The 72,000-square-foot facility doesn’t fit the typical animal shelter mold, which many people may find dark and depressing. It features hundreds of windows to bring in natural light and it has five “catios” for cats to get outdoor time.

The campus also has 13 play yards and a coffee shop for people to get something to drink while they look through hundreds of animals.

It was important to create a good environment for animals, AHS President Steven Hansen told KTAR News 92.3 FM.

“Not only are they healthier, but they are happier,” Hansen said. “And if they are happier, they are going to show it when somebody comes to visit them and they’re going to get adopted.”

New Papago Park Campus in Phoenix has better health care

Hansen said this keeps the amount of time animals stay in the center short. It also allows AHS to take more animals into its trauma hospital, which is one of the largest of its kind in the country.

The nonprofit needed a larger facility because 80% of the 22,000 animals AHS takes in annually went into the trauma hospital last year, Hansen said. That number includes animals who are sick, abandoned or abused.

The campus also serves as a teaching hospital.

“This campus is built to be transparent. You can walk between the two buildings and there are large glass windows,” Hansen said. “You can look right in, and you can see the surgical prep happening, and the next windows over, surgeries are happening.”

What to expect from new AHS campus in Phoenix

Here are a few more things one can find at the campus:

• Two buildings that are two stories high and oriented to maximize daylight without heat gain.
• 217 dog kennels.
• 358 cat kennels.
• 35 critter kennels.
• 84 rosemary plants in sensory dog gardens to provide olfactory enrichment.
• 37 parvo ICU kennels to treat almost 2,000 dogs and puppies each year.
• Four dedicated spay/neuter tables to perform more than 10,500 alteration surgeries on shelter pets each year.
• One chemo staging suite.
• 11 ambulances to transport sick and injured pets and a dedicated emergency room entrance.
• 16 animal teachers who will teach children how to show compassion to animals.

AHS currently has an adoption special sponsored by the Bissell Pet Foundation where people can adopt any adult dog for $50.

The facility is located at 5501 E. Van Buren St, Phoenix.