Friends of PACC Celebrates a Decade of Caring, Paw by Paw.

The Friends of Pima Animal Care Center, the official nonprofit partner of our community animal shelter, turned 10 years old this January. That’s 70, in dog years. Throughout January and the remainder of 2026, the organization will be celebrating its accomplishments and thanking the 1,000s of people who have been friends to PACC and vulnerable pets through their donations.

The nonprofit was founded in conjunction with the renovation of Pima Animal Care Center in the mid-2010s. The PACC renovation was funded by voters through the approval of Prop 415, because County and community leaders involved with the effort knew that Pima needed more than just a new shelter to achieve the lifesaving goals of its residents. From this realization sprang the goal for Friends of PACC.

Tammi Barrack, who served as Friends of PACC’s founding Board Chair, said, “Friends of PACC was a result of the community coming together to build a better Pima Animal Care Center.  It meant we needed to support our community by being the fundraiser for the many animals that would find themselves in need at PACC.” 

On January 28, 2016, Friends of PACC received its official recognition as a 501(c)(3) organization,  marking its official birthday.

Fast forward to today, and it’s fair to say that the goals of the organization’s vision have been fulfilled. Friends of PACC has been an integral part of PACC becoming a national model for lifesaving and animal shelter best practices. Over those same 10 years, PACC has been widely recognized as one of the most successful large-volume public shelters in the country. A key to that success is Friends of PACC’s ability to support special needs animals at PACC and to fund proactive community-based programs helping pets before they end up in the shelter. Without such support, pets brought to PACC with significant illness, injury, or behavior challenges would face major obstacles to finding a new home. Additionally, community programs such as Keeping Families Together and the Karen’s Karing Van avert the surrender of 1000s of pets to PACC by helping families before shelter intervention becomes necessary.

“Friends of PACC’s growth and success have been astonishing to watch over the last 10 years,” shared Pima County Administrator Jan Lesher. “Its positive impact on PACC and animal lifesaving in Pima County cannot be overstated. They are an invaluable partner.”

Friends of PACC estimates that its programs have impacted as many as half a million vulnerable pets over its first 10 years. With the recent addition of new large-scale programs such as the public-facing Friends Pet Clinic, new East Side PACC Adoption Center (EPAC), and Animal Restoration Kennels (ARK), it is anticipated that those numbers will grow exponentially over the next ten years.

What started as a vision to support PACC and improve live outcomes at the shelter has morphed into something much bigger. With an eye to the future, Friends of PACC’s leadership is focused on working with PACC to develop and expand lifesaving programs.

“All of this incredible work has been fueled by the generous support of our donors, who truly are the friends of PACC,” shared the nonprofit’s CEO, Torre Chisholm. “But there is still so much more to be done for vulnerable pets, so as part of the celebration, we are launching the Next 10 Fund, which will fuel the next generation of innovative programs. The next 10 years of lifesaving start today,” he added.