Sheriff Desperate to Find Home for Queenie the Pit Bull

Arpaio desperate to find home for ‘Queenie’ the pitbull
Reported by: Imani Randolph
Last Update: 7:05 am

PHOENIX – Sheriff Joe Arpaio is holding a press conference on Tuesday to bring attention to a little lady named "Queenie."

Queenie has been a resident of the Sheriff’s MASH unit for seven years -- far less than the 20 hours her former owner spent in jail for leaving her and his other dogs without food or water while he went away on vacation for over a week.

He was released without bond.

Even the average inmate will only spend seven days in jail while waiting for a trial, while inmate sentences are usually 25 days.

But Queenie, a full-figured, 78-pound pitbull whose only crime is that she loves people and not other dogs, has sadly spent the best part of her youth staring at the four walls of her lone jail cell.

For 49 dog years her only friends in the world have been some female inmates and an occasional visit from the Sheriff himself to feed her or play with her.

According to Sheriff Arpaio, Queenie is his toughest case yet.

"I can't understand why we haven't found her a home," Arpaio said. "I realize she's not a celebrity dog like those we confiscated from the rapper Earl Simmons, aka DMX. Those dogs were more easily adopted, but Queenie is a good dog who deserves a good home. I hate to think of her spending the rest of her life behind bars even though it's true, she's never complained, issued a grievance or filed a lawsuit."

Queenie is one of over 200 animals (dogs, cats, horses and pigs) living behind bars today.

Since Sheriff Arpaio opened the MASH unit (Maricopa County Animal Safe House) 10 years ago, over 1,500 animals have been incarcerated, usually for years at a time.

Arpaio says most of the animals live a good life in his jails -- eating well, getting exercise and proper grooming -- all thanks to work done by inmates.

Many of those inmates have benefited from the animals by getting work in the pet care industry upon their release from jail.

Since Arpaio's jail is a no-kill animal shelter, pets like Queenie can be there an awfully long time.

"Years ago, I had a pink neon VACANCY sign erected above Tent City to tell the world that here in this county, there would always be room in jail for the bad guys," Arpaio said. "The same thing is true for the dogs and cats we take in from abuse and neglect cases. We'll always have room for them too. But to accomplish that goal, we need to get some of these animals adopted."

Since opening day, the Sheriff's MASH unit has operated almost completely on donations and not on tax payer monies.

With fewer people or families here adopting from the MASH unit, Arpaio is looking for creative ways to reduce the population of his adoptable animals.

The Sheriff uses resources such as long-haul truckers, his statewide inmate transportation vans and airplanes to drop the animals off at their new homes outside the Phoenix-Metro area.

Arpaio said of his MASH unit, "I run a no-kill animal shelter and I intend to keep it that way."

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