06/02/2026
Doobie is SAFE and hopefully available for adoption soon! 🐾
This was definitely one of our quicker saves, and we love it when we can make that happen. We thought this would be a good time to explain a little about what happens once a request for help is submitted.
Doobie’s Timeline
11:00 AM: The Southeast Team Lead receives a Help Request email from a resident in Chandler. He is worried about a scared, shaking stray dog hiding under a pile of metal on his commercial property. This is just one of six Help Requests the team received that day.
These requests can include stray dogs, stray cats, injured animals, and beloved pets that go missing every single day. Not to mention the unusual calls we receive about cats trapped in sofas or attics, dogs stuck between walls, and even pigs wandering around high schools.
11:27 AM: After triaging multiple Help Requests, the Team Lead posts the information for the Southeast team, asking if anyone is available to respond. While the whole team sees the request, some volunteers are at their full-time jobs, some are out of town on vacation, and some are sitting in their cars on the other side of town watching humane traps, hoping their target cat or dog will enter so they can move on to the next request. None of them have figured out how to clone themselves so they can be in two places at once.
11:47 AM: On this day, one volunteer was available and answered the call. Well, Facebook Messenger actually, but you get the drift. She headed out to determine whether the dog could be leashed or if a box trap would be needed to secure him. She was hoping for a leashable situation, which is faster and much less complicated, but can also be a bit scarier for both the volunteer and the dog. We have to read each animal to determine the best course of action.
12:53 PM: The next thing the team knows, the volunteer is sending photos of Doobie in her backseat, as content as can be. Safe!
When she arrived at the property, there was Doobie, just hanging out and waiting for her. She leashed him, scooped him up, and placed him in her car without issue. Doobie is the sweetest boy—super friendly, well-trained, and a very happy, very large puppy. He was not wearing a collar, and a later microchip scan revealed no chip.
1:41 PM: The volunteer and Doobie arrived at Maricopa County Animal Care and Control East. This volunteer is not on the short list of approved HARTT volunteers authorized to drop off dogs at County, so another volunteer met her there.
One of the biggest challenges we face when we secure stray animals is deciding where they go next. In a perfect world, they would either return directly to the home they came from or immediately enter a rescue or foster home. But rescues are mostly full, fosters are full, and it’s rarely that simple.
So what option do we have? Should we leave them on the streets, scared and in danger? At risk of being hit by a car, attacked by other animals, starving, dehydrated, or worse?
We think about this every single time we save a stray. We constantly ask ourselves what is best for that animal. That’s why we’re in rescue to begin with—to help animals and do what is in their best interest.
1:54 PM: It was our turn at the County counter. Questions were asked and answered. Another scan confirmed the absence of a microchip. Paperwork was provided for our records, including the ever-important ID number: A5165880.
This is the number anyone can use to locate Doobie at County. It’s also the number we use to follow every animal we bring there. We monitor their status, behavior, and even their names, which often change from the ones we use in our stories. We read notes written by County volunteers. And if a dog becomes at risk, we do everything in our power to help get them out.
Yes, every single one of them.
This alone is a full-time job handled by one dedicated HARTT volunteer. She watches, tracks, and worries about every dog we bring to County. From the wonderful news of an adoption to the moments when it’s time to call every rescue contact she has, hoping someone can make room for an animal in need.
Not all of the strays we secure go to County. Some go to the HARTT shelter if space is available, while others are placed with our amazing rescue partners throughout the state. We work hard to find the best possible outcome for every animal.
2:12 PM: Mission accomplished, and our volunteers walk out the door.
Leaving Doobie—or any animal—is always hard. We’ve already connected with them. We want to take every one of them home.
But Doobie is an adorable, beautiful, sweet, playful puppy who will hopefully be available for adoption soon, and we believe the next chapter of his life is going to be amazing.
Could you be the person who gives him his forever home?
Doobie is currently at MCACC East under ID .
🐾 Adopt, don’t shop.
And if you’d like to volunteer with HARTT, we’d love to have you. We need you! The animals need you!! Your community needs you!
Use azhartt.org to apply!!
💙💛
