Central Oklahoma Humane Society Set to Open Pet Adoption Center
by David Page
The Journal Record October 2, 2008
OKLAHOMA CITY – After returning to her native Oklahoma, Christy Counts found there was not a pet adoption service operating in northeast Oklahoma City.
As a volunteer she had done some pet rescue work in Norman while she was a student at the University of Oklahoma and later worked with animal welfare groups in Texas, California, Colorado and New York.
So in January 2007 Counts founded the Central Oklahoma Humane Society. In less than two years, the nonprofit group has developed a spay and neuter program, a foster program for dogs and cats and in just a few days will open a pet adoption center at 7500 N. Western Ave.
“There was clearly a huge need for this service,” Counts said. “Just tracking our growth shows the need. It sends a signal that the community really wants to see this happen.”
Chesapeake Energy is providing the 6,000-square-foot building rent-free, she said. The Kirkpatrick Family Fund provided a grant for renovations. Other private donors also contributed to the construction efforts.
Homeless dogs and cats will be available at the adoption center, which will be open Tuesday-Sunday. The goal is to make Oklahoma City a no-kill area.
“If we can just get 10 percent of the Oklahoma City pet purchasers to adopt pets we would no longer have to euthanize healthy animals at the Oklahoma City Animal Shelter,” said Counts, president of the society.
The Central Oklahoma Humane Society works in partnership with the shelter.
“We transfer dogs and cats from the Oklahoma City Animal Shelter for adoptions,” she said. “We did 1,000 adoptions our first year.
With the new adoption center, Counts said she expects the group to arrange 1,500 pet adoptions annually. While available pets will be on display at the adoption center, they will not live there.
“The reason this adoption center is different is that the dogs and cats do not stay overnight,” she said. “This is our storefront adoption center.”
Dogs and cats available for adoption stay in foster homes.
“We have 64 foster families,” Counts said. “People care for a dog or a cat in their home until we find it a home. It is good for someone who does not want to make a commitment for the life of a pet.”
Applications for foster homes are available at www.okhumane.org.
Anyone interested in adopting dogs and cats can come to the center and see and interact with the animals.
“People can go into one of our real-life areas and play with a dog or cat and get to know them,” she said. “Since the dogs and cats stay with foster families, we can tell them about each animal.”
The adoption center will also include a pet supply store with food, collars, beds and boutique items. All proceeds from sales will be used to help support the facility.
Another area of the new adoption center will be dedicated for a humane education program for children.
“There have been studies providing a correlation between cruelty to animals and violent crimes later in life,” she said. “Children who are kind to animals are kind to each other.”
Volunteers are needed to work with children in the education program.
“We will have book clubs, a children’s Web site, interactive games and learning materials,” she said.
The education program will include a teen leadership board.
“We want to get teens involved with our mission,” Counts said.
The first teen board is expected to be named later this month. Members will be appointed for a year and each group will have a project.
“I would like to see them do a lot of the teaching for the younger children,” Counts said.
The Central Oklahoma Humane Society also operates a spay and neuter program at a former fire station in south Oklahoma City. Counts is seeking a site for a second spay and neuter facility in north Oklahoma City.
“Our goal is to make Oklahoma City the first no-kill city among our peer cities in the country,” she said. “The number one killer of dogs and cats in our nation is euthanizing at animal shelters.”
Euthanizing dogs and cats at animal shelters is a solvable problem, she said.
“We can end euthanizing dogs and cats at animal shelters in the next couple of years if all our dogs and cats are spayed and neutered,” she said. “We are not just trying to put a Band-Aid on this. We are trying to solve it.”
Counts said she plans to open additional pet adoption centers around the city in the next several years.
“We need the community to step up and get involved with this mission,” she said. “It is important to our quality of life. Who would want to live in a community that does not take care of its most vulnerable population?”
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