Midnight Woofness May 19, 2010

“Midnight Woofness”

**FOSTER PARENTS NEEDED**

Midnight Woofness – A Woof Summer’s Night Dream Event:

Let’s adopt 300 pets in two days

Foster parents are needed to help house animals for this huge adoption outreach event

Date: June 4^th – 5^th – 6^th 2010

Time: Kick-off at midnight on Friday, June 4^th and adoptions will be around the clock until Sunday, June 6^th at 5 PM.

Location: In the parking lot of the PetSmart store on I-240 and Penn.  1417 West I 240 Service Road, Oklahoma City, OK‎ – (405) 681-8198‎

The Oklahoma City Animal Welfare Division has joined forces with the Central Oklahoma Humane Society, Red Dirt Boxer and Heartland Lab Rescue to save OKC pets’ lives.  We are in need of foster homes to help house the adoption animals prior to the big event.  If you can provide foster care for a healthy animal for a couple of weeks, let us know immediately.

Pet Photo Contest!! February 1, 2010

For those of you who think you have the most adorable pets on earth, SHOW US!!!

In an effort to raise funds for our cause we are starting a monthly photo contest! 100% of funds will go directly to OKC shelters and rescues at the end of every month.

In order to submit photos, please click on the “Donations” tab at the top of this site and donate at least $2 to our cause (you do not need paypal to donate). Then, e-mail me at saveokcpets@gmail.com to submit your photo (limit of 1 photo please). Have a description with your photo so we can use it in case you win the contest.

The first place winner will be showcased on our website! We will be putting the winning photo and its description on our “Contest Winners” page! This will give you and opportunity to show everyone how adorable your pet(s) are and to help out a great cause! We will be doing this EVERY MONTH, so please feel free to submit a photo every time we hold the contest.

We look forward to seeing all of those cute pictures!! good luck and thank you.

How Can I Volunteer? January 29, 2010

-Volunteer at the OKC Animal Welfare shelter-

• Spend time playing with the cats and kittens that are up for adoption.
• Play and walk dogs and puppies who are up for adoption.
• Help keep dog  kennels and cat rooms clean.
• Help with adoption events which may require you to travel to the event site.
• Many other shelter tasks.

-Be a foster parent!-

We have many circumstances where we need foster parents:

• Puppies & kittens who are too young to be away from their mother who need to be bottle fed.
• Dogs & cats who come in that need more socializing before being adopted into a new family.
• Puppies & kittens who do not weigh enough to be spayed/neutered.
• Dogs & cats who are sick and need to have time to get better.
• Mother cats & dogs with their litters who are still on mother’s milk.
• Dogs & cats who need a break from the shelter.

Duties you may need to perform while fostering:

• Provide shelter for the animal(s) you are fostering.
• Feed and water them daily (shelter will provide food if requested).
• Bathe and/or brush them.
• Administer medications.
• Socialize with them daily.
• Clean up after them.
• Bottle feed if they require.
• Transport them to and from the shelter.
• Give them lots of love!

-What are the requirements?-

• Must be 18 years or older.
• Must pass a background check.
• You are required to sign a statement from the shelter concerning confidentiality.

-How do I sign up?-

• Fill out the Volunteer Application.
• Contact the OKC Animal Welfare shelter and ask to speak to Kay Buzzell (Unit Operations Supervisor) or Ashley Michaud (volunteer).

Shelter phone number: (405) 297-2655

Kay’s e-mail: kay.buzzell@okc.gov

Ashley’s Cell: (405) 388-8772

Ashley’s e-mail: ashley@petsnpads.com

The OKC Pet Overpopulation CRISIS January 27, 2010

Welcome readers,

You are probably reading this blog because you are concerned for the present and future of the OKC Animal Overpopulation CRISIS. Thank you for reading! It is people like you who will help rid our community of  this crisis and help stop the euthanasia of  thousands of innocent animals each year. I will now tell you WHY I am writing this blog.

I moved to Oklahoma a year and a half ago from New Hampshire for my husband to peruse his Masters degree at the University of Oklahoma. In NH, we have a Humane Society in each county, but nothing like what I saw when I walked into the OKC Animal Welfare. I walked in and immediately saw rooms FULL of cats and kittens. I then walked a little further, through a door to the room where the dogs were. This room was disturbing.  There were rows of cages FILLED with dogs. The shelter workers do their best but some cages even had 2 or 3 dogs in them at once. Dogs were barking, shaking, coughing, even standing in their own urine and Feces! That was it! I had to leave and come back later.

Since my first encounter with the shelter, I have become more and more involved and am now more exposed to even more of this horrible reality. I go into rooms that the public does not see. Rooms like the “Holding Room” where they keep the dogs and cats who are destined to be put to sleep that week. It is heartbreaking and I feel SO helpless. It is impossible to take them all in. That’s where you come in!

At first, I was angry with the shelter and how they euthanize animals just because they have a cold or kennel cough. But, I soon realized that it is not in the shelter’s control! The people of Oklahoma have chosen doom for these innocent animals. Our community as a whole has refused to take care of it’s pets. Because of the neglect of these people, we have a crisis on our hands! The OKC Animal Welfare Division states that the shelter varies between a 30% and 50% (depending on the time of year) LRR (live release rate). This means that if 100 animals come in that between 50% and 70% of them do not make it back out the front doors. Do not take this lightly, it is truly a CRISIS! The Central Oklahoma Humane Society is also under the same CRISIS. We all share the same goal which is to save these innocent animals from unnecessary death. And that is why I am writing this blog.

My goals:

• To make our community aware of the crisis we are facing.
• To show our community efforts we can make to CHANGE this crisis.
• To find forever homes for hopeful pets.
• To gain new foster homes for animals in need.
• To ultimately help the  in the goal of reaching a 75% LRR.

Please add my blog to your favorites and stay informed! Help me in my efforts to better the future of the animals in OKC.

Thank you.