'I meet 50 new dogs a day': Presidential honor recipient at Arizona Humane Society sees work as own reward

When Perry Fanzo moved to the Valley in 1985, the Pittsburgh native quickly became a fan of the local TV show “Pets on Parade.”

Having volunteered for the organization for 21 years, the 66-year-old retiree and Scottsdale resident has starred for about 18 years on the Arizona Humane Society (AHS) program that promotes pet adoptions.

For his efforts, which include having logged about 15,500 volunteer hours and helping between 4,000 and 5,000 dogs get adopted, Fanzo was awarded the Lifetime Achievement President’s Volunteer Service Award in December.

“By sharing your time and passion, you are helping discover and deliver solutions to the challenges we face – solutions that we now need more than ever,” read a letter signed by President Joe Biden to Fanzo. “On behalf of the American people, I extend my heartfelt appreciation to you for your volunteer leadership, and I encourage you to continue to answer the call to serve.”

Nominated by AHS Volunteer Engagement Manager Ashleigh Goebel, Fanzo is honored by the letter and the accompanying certificate also signed by the president.

But Fanzo assures the work at AHS is its own reward.

“There’s no better place to be. I meet 50 new dogs a day,” Fanzo said.

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Fanzo is among volunteers who care for the 15-40 dogs housed at the AHS dog kennel at a PetSmart in Scottsdale at any given time. A lot of the animals the Arizona Humane Society houses are rescues and voluntary surrenders.

Recently, in between walking and playing with the dogs and cleaning their kennels, Fanzo took on the task of carrying an affectionate 2-month-old, fluffy, buffed tan Boxer mix.

Named Elio, the pup was brought to the kennel after being found as a stray two days prior to Fanzo receiving the award. To help get Elio to socialize with humans, Fanzo strolled around the strip mall with the pup, who returned the affection by licking volunteer’s ears.

Fanzo and Elio stopped at Xander Lyn Salon a few doors down from the PetSmart as the women there gushed over the furry dog.

Hair stylist Anna Olivarria and her husband adopted a 16-month-old Siberian Husky mix that Fanzo had brought into the salon some months ago. Free advertising is another advantage of taking the dogs on a walk – people see them and ask Fanzo where they can adopt.

“He does his work around here,” Olivarria said with a smile.

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Only about a couple of hours later, Elio would be adopted by a father with two kids.

Though not currently a dog owner himself, Fanzo has fostered 24 puppies in the past year, including three that were found abandoned in a wheel barrel.

“It’s pretty easy” to get attached to foster dogs, he said.

Fanzo grew up with many canines throughout his childhood. His first dog was Ziggy, a white female terrier his father rescued as a stray in France after World War II ended.

Ziggy passed when Fanzo was only 6 years old, but he said he remembers her "quite well."

The closest Fanzo has come to dog parenting since then was when he and a volunteer jointly shared Panama, a shepherd mix rescued from a local canal when he was 9 months old and at risk of being euthanized.

Thanks to the volunteers, Panama found a permanent home and lived to be 16 years old.

“(Fanzo is) fantastic. He’s truly passionate about what he does supporting the organization,” said Olivarria, adding that Fanzo is “really good about building relationships with customers.”

Volunteering keeps Fanzo busy since he retired as a Honeywell Process Solutions engineer in 2018. And only a day after completing an eight-hour shift at the Scottsdale shelter, Fanzo was in front of cameras at 3TV’s north Phoenix station to film “Pets on Parade.”

On the air since 1958, “Pets on Parade” offers tips for pet owners on care and behavior, and it raises awareness of the work AHS does for the Valley’s four-legged community.

Before the show’s taping, Fanzo held and pet Fudge, a grayish 1-year-old rabbit to be featured on that day’s episode. Between takes, Minka, a charcoal-colored terrier mix, stood on her hind legs with her paws on the Fanzo’s legs as he fed her treats.

In addition to kennel work and TV, Fanzo’s AHS volunteer work includes him instructing other volunteers and introducing dogs to different groups.

“Perry (Fanzo) is definitely an epitome of what an Arizona Humane Society volunteer is. They’re compassionate, they’re caring, they’re selfless, and they truly are so dedicated to our cause and our pets,” said “Pets on Parade” host Kelsey Dickerson.

The work done by Fanzo and more than 1,700 AHS volunteers helps contribute to the care of an average of 18,000 sick, injured or abused pets, Dickerson said. Those wanting to help can do so through donating food, Dickerson said, signaling to azhumane.org/volunteer as a starting point.

“I just want to give credit to a lot of volunteers,” Fanzo said about his lifetime service award. “There’s no better way to know animals than to volunteer at a shelter. They’re spectacular animals too.”

Reach breaking news reporter Jose R. Gonzalez at jose.gonzalez@gannett.com or on Twitter @jrgzztx.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona Humane Society volunteer Perry Fanzo receives Presidential honor