UA Employees Devote Time, Hearts to Furry Friends in Need

UA Employees Devote Time, Hearts to Furry Friends in Need

By Amanda BallardUniversity Relations - Communications
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At the UA, plenty of employees dedicate their spare time to helping Tucson's four-legged friends.
At the UA, plenty of employees dedicate their spare time to helping Tucson's four-legged friends.
UA associate general counsel Mary de Ranitz is co-founder of Bridge Rescue for Dogs. The organization helps place stray dogs in adoption homes or foster families.
UA associate general counsel Mary de Ranitz is co-founder of Bridge Rescue for Dogs. The organization helps place stray dogs in adoption homes or foster families.
Because she has dogs of her own, conflict of interest officer Victoria Tugade feels motivated to help Tucson's stray animals.
Because she has dogs of her own, conflict of interest officer Victoria Tugade feels motivated to help Tucson's stray animals.
The UA CATS4Critters club aims to help the homeless cat and dog populations in the Tucson area.
The UA CATS4Critters club aims to help the homeless cat and dog populations in the Tucson area.

At the end of a long day providing legal advice, UA associate general counsel Mary de Ranitz's work isn't over yet.

She's off to her second calling – coordinating rescue efforts for stray dogs around Tucson.

De Ranitz is a self-proclaimed "doggie social worker" and co-founder of Bridge Rescue for Dogs, a corporation she started with three other board members, including UA employee Victoria Tugade, conflict of interest officer for Research Compliance Services.

"Mary and I work together and started talking about dogs one day, and that's how we got connected," Tugade said.

Founded in June, the organization's focus is on enhancing the dog foster care system in Tucson and recruiting foster families who are willing to care for dogs until they are adopted.

"There's not a lack of great people willing to rescue dogs," Tugade said. "Where you fall short is having fosters and fundraising activities."

Pima Animal Care Center, Tucson's only open-access shelter, welcomes all animals regardless of age, health or behavior. The center is so overpopulated that there is a daily need for foster care and adoptions to prevent dogs and cats from being euthanized, de Ranitz said.

"You save two lives by fostering," de Ranitz said. "You save the foster dog, and you save the dog that's coming into the shelter because you freed up that kennel. ... There are just lovely dogs in the shelter that live there for months. Because there are no foster homes, they just sit there and wait to get adopted. I don't like using the word euthanasia, because it actually means 'good death.' I don't consider it a good death when a perfectly adoptable dog gets killed."

Susan Miller, deputy director of research cyber infrastructure for Arizona Research Laboratories, is another UA employee working to help animals in need. She founded the UA CATS4Critters club.

The club started as CATS4Kitties, with the mission of improving the safety and well-being of stray cats on campus, as well as educating the community about responsible pet ownership. To help control the feral cat population, the club promotes the trap-neuter-vaccinate-return model, in which cats are trapped, neutered and vaccinated, and then returned to a safe outdoor location to live out the rest of their lives.

"When you see cats out there, they look so helpless when it's 115 degrees and they're trying to survive," Miller said. "Trying to reduce the number of cats in need and helping the ones that are out there is something I feel a strong need to do. I guess I just have a soft spot for cats."

Last month, the club expanded its mission to include stray dogs by partnering with Bridge Rescue for Dogs and changing its name to CATS4Critters. Miller said the biggest challenge the club faces is getting people involved.

"We really just need more people to join in," she said. "If we got more people to help, we could do more."

De Ranitz and Tugade agree that awareness and willingness to take action is key to helping Tucson's animals in need.

"I love my dogs, and it breaks my heart when there are other animals out there that are being mistreated," said Tugade, who has three dogs of her own.

For those who want to help, de Ranitz and Tugade encourage them to consider fostering or adopting a furry companion, as long as they're ready for the commitment. Fostering doesn't entail the same level of financial commitment as adoption because the rescue organization typically provides food and veterinary care, so that the foster parent only has to provide the housing, companionship and love.

"Even just a little bit of effort can make a huge difference, not just in the lives of the animals, but in the people that adopt them," de Ranitz said. "If you need to get a furry fix, foster."


CATS4Critters meets the fourth Wednesday of each month from noon to 12:50 p.m. in UA BookStores main bookstore, Room 304A. You can sign up to receive email updates from the club here or visit the club's Facebook page for more information.

To learn more about Bridge Rescue for Dogs and learn how you can foster a dog, visit the group's Facebook page.

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