🐕 From City Hall to Kennel Calls: Steve Kozachik's Animal Welfare Wake-Up Call | BUCKMASTER
Steve Kozachik's PACC revelations expose how economic inequality creates animal suffering
Based on the Buckmaster Show for 6/6/25, a daily radio show in Tucson, AZ, interviewing local newsmakers. Analysis and opinions are my own.
😽 Keepin’ It Simple Summary for Younger Readers
👧🏾✊🏾👦🏾
🏜️ Tucson has a big problem with too many homeless pets 🐕🐈 and not enough space to help them. The animal shelter was supposed to hold 235 dogs 🐶, but now has 530 🐾 - that's like trying to fit 530 kids 🧒👦 in a classroom 🏫 made for 235! A former city council member named Steve Kozachik is trying to fix this by bringing veterinary care 🏥🐾 directly to neighborhoods that need it most.
Meanwhile, the government is building a huge wall along the border 🏗️🧱 that will block jaguars, bears, and other animals 🐆🐻 from moving between Mexico and Arizona like they've done for thousands of years. Both problems show how important it is for communities to work together 🤝 to solve big challenges rather than just building walls or warehouses to hide problems.
🗝️ Takeaways
🚨 PACC houses 530 dogs in a facility built for 235 - more than double capacity
🏠 54 hoarding cases involve 800+ dogs and 200+ cats that can't be addressed due to a lack of space
💉 Only 15% of stray dogs arriving at PACC have microchips
🏛️ State legislature gutted Tucson's 2014 puppy mill ordinance after corporate lobbying
🧱 33 miles of new border wall will bisect the ecologically crucial San Rafael Valley
🐆 Three jaguars spotted in Arizona use the San Rafael Valley as a migration corridor
📰 TucsonSentinel provides paywall-free journalism on immigration and community issues
🤝 Over 800 animals are currently in foster care through PACC programs
Paws, Politics, and Border Barriers: A Friday Focus on Community Compassion
¡Saludos, comunidad! Sometimes the most revealing conversations happen when we least expect them, and Friday's Buckmaster Show delivered exactly that kind of raw, unfiltered reality check about our community's most pressing challenges.
On this anniversary of D-Day - "156,000 men that landed at Normandy," as Bill Buckmaster reminded us - we found ourselves grappling with battles much closer to home.
The irony wasn't lost on this reporter: 81 years after Allied forces stormed beaches to defend democracy and human dignity, we're building walls that fragment communities and warehousing animals because our systems have fundamentally failed.
Bill Buckmaster and Tom Fairbanks welcomed two guests whose work embodies the beautiful complexity of Southern Arizona: Steve Kozachik, the former Tucson City Councilman now leading Pima Animal Care Center, and Paul Ingram, senior reporter for TucsonSentinel.com, whose immigration coverage consistently cuts through political noise to reveal human truth.
Steve Kozachik: When Compassion Meets Crisis
Kozachik arrived at PACC in January, inheriting what can only be described as a humanitarian crisis with four legs and wet noses. The numbers he shared should shake every listener to their core: "The shelter was built to house roughly 235 dogs. Today we have over 530."
Let me pause here because this isn't just about overcrowding - this is about a community that claims to love animals while systematically failing them. We build fancy dog parks and share cute pet videos on social media, but when it comes to addressing the root causes of animal suffering? Crickets.
The depth of this crisis becomes even more staggering when Kozachik reveals the invisible suffering: "We have over 50 hoarding cases out in the community, 54 hoard cases right now that we simply are not getting to."
These aren't just numbers on a spreadsheet - they represent "over 800 dogs and over 200 cats" living in conditions that would horrify any reasonable person.
But here's where the conversation gets genuinely heartbreaking. When asked about the difference between today and when the shelter was built, Kozachik doesn't mince words:
"People do not spay/neuter their animals. In many parts of the community, they do not confine their animals appropriately. Vaccines, they don't vaccinate the animals. They don't microchip their animals."
Translation: We've created a system where basic veterinary care becomes a luxury item, then act surprised when the inevitable consequences land on PACC's doorstep.
The statistics paint an even grimmer picture: "57% of the dogs that we get in are strays. And sadly, only about 15% of them have been microchipped."
This isn't irresponsibility - it's economic inequality playing out in real time. When families are choosing between rent and veterinary bills, guess what gets postponed?
The Legislative Betrayal That Still Stings
But perhaps the most infuriating revelation came when Kozachik described how corporate interests demolished local democracy. In 2014, Tucson passed a reasonable puppy mill ordinance requiring retail stores to source animals from shelters or rescues.
Common sense, right?
Wrong.
"An owner of a couple of the retail stores, both here in town and up in Phoenix, went and lobbied the legislature and I guess wrote big enough checks, and so the state legislature passed a preemptive law that said local jurisdictions can't pass puppy mill ordinances or sourcing ordinances that are more restricted than state law."
Because nothing says "small government" quite like the state government (run by Republicans) crushing local democracy to protect corporate profits. The hypocrisy is so thick you could cut it with a microchip.
Innovation Within Broken Systems
Despite these systemic failures, Kozachik's team demonstrates what's possible when compassion meets innovation.
Their mobile medical unit has "been out in the community 24 times since January 1st, and we have touched over 3,100 animals." They're targeting underserved communities with Spanish-language outreach, recognizing that "there are five zip codes that we're targeting right now largely in the southwest side of town."
Finally, someone who understands that animal welfare is inseparable from social justice. When you address poverty and language barriers, you address animal suffering.
The most innovative approach involves treating hoarding as a public health issue rather than a criminal one.
"Hoarding is a treatable mental situation, the same way drug addictions and betting addictions are," Kozachik explains, describing partnerships with behavioral health services and even Habitat for Humanity to address underlying conditions.
Paul Ingram: Ecological Vandalism Disguised as Security
Ingram's immigration expertise brought sobering news about the latest chapter in our border militarization saga. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem just "did a waiver for about 33 miles of border wall" that will devastate one of Arizona's most precious ecological treasures.
The San Rafael Valley isn't just another stretch of desert - it's "considered by environmentalists a gem. It's an area where the three jaguars have been spotted in Arizona."
This corridor represents millennia of evolutionary connectivity, a pathway that "species that are used to crossing the border" have traveled for countless generations.
But hey, let's build a 30-foot wall through it because surely that'll stop... what exactly? Jaguars carrying fentanyl? Butterflies trafficking democracy?
Ingram's weekend reporting from Lochiel captured something beautiful amidst this environmental vandalism:
"There was a group of environmentalists and advocates who had a kind of celebration of the borderlands... they shared food and they shared art. They did kind of a demonstration where they made a bunch of cardboard birds and really to kind of symbolize the change that the environment brings."
These folks understand something fundamental that politicians miss: communities are stronger when they're connected, not divided.
The scale of ecological destruction becomes clear when Ingram explains that "almost all of it" - nearly the entire Arizona border - now bristles with barriers. During Trump's tenure alone, they "built about 245 miles of border wall," but this militarization project spans decades and multiple administrations.
The Immigration Reality Check
When Buckmaster asks about immigration roundups, Ingram provides a refreshingly honest assessment:
"We've definitely had targeted arrests. The arrests of ones and twos. But we haven't seen any of the kind of big arrests."
Funny how the supposed "invasion" looks remarkably mundane when actual journalists do actual reporting instead of recycling fear-mongering talking points.
The Deeper Connections: Systems, Stories, and Solutions
Both segments reveal something profound about how our community responds to crisis. We're quick to build walls—literal and metaphorical—but slower to address the root causes.
PACC's overcrowding is rooted in economic inequality, inadequate housing policies, and legislative capture by corporate interests. Border wall expansion reflects decades of bipartisan militarization that prioritizes symbolism over substance.
Yet both Kozachik and Ingram demonstrate that dedicated individuals can create meaningful change within broken systems. Kozachik's innovative community outreach and Ingram's meticulous journalism represent exactly the kind of ground-level engagement that builds toward broader transformation.
This is what real leadership looks like: not grand gestures or political theater, but patient, persistent work to address actual problems affecting actual beings.
When a listener asks about financial assistance for spay/neuter services, Kozachik's response reveals the community support that exists:
"Friends of PAC just opened up a low-cost veterinary clinic over at First Avenue and Glenn." This isn't charity - it's community members recognizing that animal welfare benefits everyone.
The foster program provides another model of community collaboration: "We have about 530 dogs here in the shelter. We have over 800 out in foster." These aren't just statistics - they represent neighbors stepping up when systems fall short.
What Can We Do?
The solutions aren't complex, but they require political will and community commitment.
For animal welfare: fund mobile veterinary clinics, support low-cost spay/neuter programs, and advocate for legislators to prioritize animal welfare over corporate profits.
For immigration: demand environmental assessments, support cross-border conservation efforts, and recognize that walls solve nothing while destroying everything.
PACC needs volunteers, fosters, and adopters. "We're open seven days a week from noon till seven, Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday, 1:30 to 7. On Wednesdays, 10 to 5 on weekends." Located at "4000 North Silverbell" at the intersection with Sweetwater, just south of Silverbell Lake at Danny Lopez Park.
Support TucsonSentinel.com's independent journalism - "We do not have a pay wall. So you can read every story that you want to to your heart's content for free." Real reporting requires community support.
This isn't just about animals or immigration - it's about what kind of community we choose to be. Do we build walls or bridges? Do we warehouse problems or address root causes? Do we prioritize corporate profits or community wellbeing?
The beautiful truth embedded in Friday's show is that transformation happens through relationships - between humans and animals, between communities divided by arbitrary borders, between neighbors who recognize their interconnectedness.
Every act of compassion - fostering a frightened shelter dog, defending fragile borderland ecosystems, supporting independent journalism - plants seeds of the world we're creating together.
¡Seguimos adelante! Keep supporting Three Sonorans Substack for the community-centered analysis and advocacy journalism that mainstream media won't provide. Our stories matter, our voices matter, and our collective action creates the change we need.
What Do You Think?
How might we restructure our community priorities to ensure basic services like animal welfare become accessible community resources rather than luxury commodities?
What would genuinely humane policies look like if we prioritized ecological integrity and cross-border cooperation over performative enforcement?
How can we better support the innovative work happening at PACC?
Share your thoughts below - our community grows stronger through dialogue, connection, and collective action for justice.
Quotes:
Steve Kozachik on shelter overcrowding: "The shelter was built to house roughly 235 dogs. Today we have over 530."
Kozachik on hoarding crisis: "We have over 50 hoard cases out in the community, 54 hoard cases right now that we simply are not getting to... if we brought them in next week, we would bring in over 800 dogs and over 200 cats."
Kozachik on corporate legislative capture: "An owner of a couple of the retail stores, both here in town and up in Phoenix, went and lobbied the legislature and I guess wrote big enough checks, and so the state legislature passed a preemptive law."
Kozachik on systemic issues: "We are simply playing the hand that the community has dealt us."
Paul Ingram on border wall environmental impact: "It's considered by environmentalists a gem. It's an area where the three jaguars have been spotted in Arizona."
Ingram on immigration enforcement: "We've definitely had targeted arrests... But we haven't seen any of the kind of big arrests."
People Mentioned:
Bill Buckmaster - Radio host, 14.5 years hosting show, 37 years in Tucson radio/TV
Steve Kozachik - Former Tucson City Councilman, current PACC Director since January 2025
Paul Ingram - Senior Reporter, TucsonSentinel.com, covering immigration since 2014
Kristi Noem - Homeland Security Secretary who "did a waiver for about 33 miles of border wall"
David Hathaway - Santa Cruz County Sheriff involved in border wall discussions
Matt Gentry - Morning host on 101.7 The Drive, "I lived in New Mexico for 25 years" and former baseball pitcher for 40 years
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