Jon Gary has worked for Oklahoma City Animal Welfare for 23 years and has been superintendent for the last seven.
"As of this morning we were at 160% of capacity. 475 dogs in our building that was designed to handle 300. So, we have had to make some tough decisions. Today alone on the euthanasia list there's nine animals, nine dogs simply because we don't have the space to keep them." says Gary.
He says the pandemic three years ago proved to be a double-edged sword. People stuck at home adopted dogs and cats, because they had the time and those stimulus checks to spend. But when those checks ended and Coronavirus slowed down, people went back to work and many of those adopted dogs and cats ended up back here.
"We are seeing less foster homes and our partners, the people and groups we work with, are as crowded as we are. So, they are running into the same situations where they are not able to take as many from us. So, it's kind of that getting back to the pre-pandemic numbers is really the biggest problem we have.” Gary says.
Gary says a little leg work is key to keeping at least some dogs and cats out of shelters in the first place:
"When you find a pet, when somebody finds a dog in the street the first reaction is, ‘We should just take it to the shelter.’ Well, less than 20% of the dogs are reclaimed by their owner. So, we know once they enter our door, the likelihood of getting back home is not very good. So, it's actually better if you try to locate the owner through the neighborhood through apps like NextDoor and Facebook, all those places where people post lost pets, and try to reconnect them back home before bringing them here. Because when they get here the likelihood of getting back with their owner is not very good."
A couple decades ago, Oklahoma City Animal Welfare took in an average of 30,000 animals a year. They would only save about 10%. Last year, they saved 84%. That's because of the success of statewide spay and neuter campaigns over the past several years.
“Remind people how cheap it is to spay and neuter their animals. Well, you know especially nowadays there are so many options available for people. If you are an OKC resident, we have a free program so any OKC resident can get their dog or cat spayed or neutered for free. We actually partner with Safe Haven High Volume Spay and Neuter Clinic in Spencer, OK. They do all of those for us and we partner with them for that program. Even if you are not in the OKC metro area, there's OK Humane that charges less than a $100 to get your animal spayed or neutered there. Bella Foundation has similar programs the same way. Best Friends of Pets, they also offer another where it is less than $100." Gary says.
Skylar Denney volunteers at Oklahoma City's Animal Shelter. "I mean I enjoy it. So, I don't see it as a job or anything. It's extremely important to spay and neuter your pets. You can walk through any of these kennels and there are just piles of puppies. It’s very sad and we could really stop this problem if people spay and neuter their animals. Especially, using the resources offered at Oklahoma City’s Animal Shelter, which is most of the time free." Denney says.
"There's so many medical benefits to getting your animal spayed or neutered. It reduces some cancer risks and promotes better behavior. You know one of the number one reasons pets are returned to the shelter is due to behavior reasons and you can actually help with their behavior by getting them spayed and neutered.” Gary says.
19 miles north at Edmond’s animal shelter, Diesel has been waiting to be adopted for about three weeks. Kenny Stevenson, Supervisor at Edmond Animal Services, says Diesel’s former owners returned Diesel to the Edmond shelter recently because they were losing their home.
"It's expensive to take care of a pet, it really is. We tell people if you don't have a thousand dollars at least a year to spend on an animal, you probably are not going to be able to afford it. So, when the pandemic came to an end and people went back to work, those numbers that were really positive during the pandemic with the number of animals going out was great. However, those numbers coming back were trifold.” says Stevenson.
He says pet adoptions at Edmond Animal Services cost $25 and each pet is spayed, neutered, and micro-chipped before they go out their door. Back over at the Oklahoma City shelter, right now, if you adopt a dog that's over 40 pounds, the adoption is free.
"Identification is so crucial. Having a microchip is a permanent identification, we always recommend microchips, but we also recommend ID. We recommend both, because an ID Is the quickest way to get home for that animal. If you have an ID with that phone number on it, the public generally will get the dog back to you and you will never have to come to the shelter.” Gary says.