Arizona Humane Society

The Arizona Humane Society was founded in 1957, making it one of the oldest humane societies in the American southwest. The organization has grown significantly over its nearly seventy years and now operates a network of campuses across the Phoenix metro, including the main Petique Adoption Center on North 13th Avenue and the Sunnyslope Campus, which functions as the medical and intake hub.

The organization places roughly 17,000 animals into homes each year, with the bulk of intake coming through transfers from Maricopa County Animal Care and Control, where Arizona Humane Society has been one of the central partners in the multi-decade effort to bring municipal euthanasia numbers down.

How they work

AHS adoptions begin online or in person. The application is short, the interview is conversational, and meet-and-greets happen for animals that look like a fit. Adoption fees vary by animal and time of year.

The shelter operates as no-kill in current practice, with consistently high live release rates. Animals with significant medical or behavioral needs are stabilized in-house — the Sunnyslope campus's medical facilities are among the most substantial of any shelter in the southwest.

Beyond standard adoptions, AHS runs:

• A trauma-class veterinary hospital at the Sunnyslope campus handling emergency intake, complex surgery, and care for cruelty-case animals.
• Field Investigation and Rescue — a dedicated emergency response arm that handles cruelty cases, abandonment situations, and animals in distress. The arm operates 24/7 across Maricopa County.
• Pet Resource Center — provides food assistance, behavior consultations, and surrender-prevention support to households at risk of giving up their animals.
• Foster networks handling puppies, kittens, post-surgery recoveries, and seniors.
• Behavior and training programs for dogs requiring rehabilitation.
• Bottle Baby Program — specialized care for orphaned neonatal kittens, one of the most fragile categories of shelter intake.

The Phoenix context

The Phoenix metro animal welfare landscape is unusually shaped by climate. Summer heat in the Valley pushes animal welfare emergencies — heat exhaustion, abandonment in vehicles, surrenders from households that can't afford to cool their homes for both humans and pets — to levels that don't exist in most American cities. The Arizona Humane Society's Field Investigation arm responds to thousands of calls annually during peak summer months.

This shapes the organization's character. AHS has, more than perhaps any other southwestern humane society, built operational capacity around emergency response. The Field arm's vehicles are recognizable across the Phoenix metro; the staff is trained for climate-specific emergencies that other regions don't see at the same volume.

You can support AHS in the standard ways:

• Adopt from the Petique Adoption Center or any of the partner sites.
• Foster — the foster network is constantly recruiting, with peak demand during summer months and kitten season.
• Volunteer — dog walking, cat socializing, medical center support, Field arm support.
• Donate — AHS publishes detailed financials and maintains strong charity ratings.

Field & Era at Arizona Humane Society

The Petique coordinates appear regularly in Companion Edition orders shipped throughout the Phoenix metro and across Arizona. If you adopted from the Arizona Humane Society and want the address set on archival paper, see the Companion Edition. 10% of every Companion order supports a rescue partner.

Last verified May 29, 2026. Facts about hours, intake policies, and adoption fees can change. Confirm with Arizona Humane Society directly before visiting.