Young local artist Caroline McKinnis has done it again!

For the second year in a row, Caroline presented many of her works at the Festival of the Arts in Oklahoma City. This year she was able to raise $920 for the Central Oklahoma Humane Society by selling her paintings in the Youth Art Sale!

Thank you, Caroline, for your generosity and dedication to animals. We are so thankful for your help!

If you want to be like Caroline and help OK Humane fulfill our mission of ending the needless euthanasia of animals in Oklahoma City, consider making a donation today. It’s fast, easy, and your tax-deductible gift will go straight towards our lifesaving programs. Click here to give now, or you can contact Amy Shrodes, Manager of Development, with questions at (405) 607-8991 or email amy@okhumane.org.

The animals of Oklahoma City need your help. 

Thousands of dogs and cats are euthanized each year because there simply is not enough space for them all at the overflowing Oklahoma City animal shelter.

They need you to be the stepping stone.

Davey and his friends at the OKC Animal Shelter need you to be their stepping stone to a better life.

As a foster parent for the Central Oklahoma Humane Society, you can be an animal’s stepping stone to a loving home. Fostering is free, easy, and extremely rewarding. We provide food, supplies, and veterinary care for your foster pets. All you have to do is give them a safe place to stay until they are adopted. Each foster pet will be with you for a just few short weeks, but the impact you’ll have on their life will last forever.

Our goal is to find 100 more foster families and double the number of animals we’re able to save. Together, we can move one step closer to ending the needless euthanasia of animals in our community.

More than 9,100 dogs and cats have been adopted to loving homes since OK Humane was founded in early 2007—but none of those animals would be alive today without the foster families who took them in and taught them to love.

Be the stepping stone, and open your heart and your home to an animal that needs you today.

Fill out our foster application today, or click here to learn more about joining the Stepping Stone Foster Program.

If you aren’t able to foster pets at this time, there are other ways to help!

• Email this blog to everyone you know!
• Like us on Facebook and share our posts with your friends!
• Change your Facebook profile cover photo to this picture!
• Follow us on Twitter and use hashtag #oksteppingstone to spread the word!
• Tell your friends, family, coworkers, and everyone at the dog park about our foster program!
• Sign up to volunteer at OK Humane!

Henry and his cat Wei Wei

Henry Potts is from Hawaii and works for the Department of Defense as a Tactical Networks engineer. The DOD relocated him to Oklahoma in September 2010.  He joined OK Humane in January 2011 and became an outreach Captain mid-February. He took a break for a few months while being deployed to the Middle East for the drawdown of IRAQ.

There are several reasons why he enjoys volunteering at OK Humane events; he loves being able to be part of the OK Humane team and assisting in finding good homes for adoptable cats and dogs. He enjoys meeting people in the community and letting them know of all the various resources that OK Humane has to offer the community and he is grateful for all the new friendships he has made.

Henry will be relocating this year due to the inactivation of the 3rd Heard Combat Communications Squadrons.  Whenever he relocates, he plans on continuing his volunteer work due to the great experience he has had with the Central Oklahoma Humane Society.

Note from Sara Schumacher, Volunteer & Foster Coordinator:

Henry has been an exceptional volunteer and outreach Captain. He is always there to help when OK Humane needs him the most and he has a genuine passion for animals. Henry has a knack for speaking to the public and understands the power of curb appeal at outreaches. We feel fortunate to have worked with him so closely.

Fancy cuddles up to the kids!

A few weeks ago, I was asked to come and speak with a class of eleven kindergarteners at the Oklahoma City Community College Child Development Center. They were spending the week teaching the children about different kinds of homes and they wanted me to talk with them about the environments that cats and dogs might thrive in. The teachers requested that I bring a dog to visit, and I was fortunate enough to borrow a certified therapy dog named Fancy from an OK Humane board member.

When I arrived at the OCCC Child Development Center, the kindergarten class was sitting in a semi-circle enjoying story time. Fancy and I were introduced to the students and greeted with much enthusiasm. However, one little girl named Alex burst into tears and immediately hid behind her teacher at the sight of Fancy. The teacher explained to me that Alex had gone through several negative experiences and that she was terrified of dogs. I continued on with my presentation and spoke with the children about all of the places cats and dogs live and flourish. They were extremely inquisitive and even shared with me stories about their own animals at home. At the end of the presentation, I offered the children a chance to pet Fancy. After a bit of coaxing, Alex reluctantly came over and gave Fancy a quick scratch in between the ears. Slowly but surely she gained enough confidence to pet Fancy. With each stroke of Fancy’s fur, her smile grew larger.

Soon, my time with the children came to an end and I said my goodbyes. As I was leaving the classroom, Alex followed me to the door and gave Fancy a big hug around the neck and kissed her right on the nose. She proclaimed to the class that she was still a little scared of dogs, but that Fancy was the nicest dog she had ever met! As I walked out of the classroom, I grinned and thought to myself just how lucky I was to see a true therapy dog at work.

Sam and Lexie say, "Minnesota or Bust!"

On the evening of April 10^th, 2012, OK Humane’s fearless staff members Samantha Burnett and Lexie Parker the Homeward Bound transport vehicle and began a grueling 800-mile trek north. Their mission? To escort 18 lucky dogs and puppies to a new life with Animal Humane Society in Golden Valley, Minnesota as part of the very first transport of the Homeward Bound Transport Program!

The first transport’s departure was a memorable event for all involved. Hugs and tail wags were plentiful as each animal was gently loaded onto the state-of-the-art transport vehicle generously donated by the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. The climate-controlled van provides animal passengers with a comfortable ride

“It’s so amazing to me that we can do this for the animals. These were dogs that no one wanted, and we’re giving them a second chance at life.” said Lexie Parker, Transport Program Manager.

Staffer Lexie cuddles her favorite passenger, Lady!

Among the van’s pawed-passengers were J.J., Skittles and McScruff- three Schnauzer mix brothers who were found on the side of the road and nursed back to health by a concerned citizen. Also riding along was Lady, a Pug/Beagle mix who had never been to see a veterinarian before coming into our program! Lady’s happy attitude and silly smile made her a fast favorite among staff members.

After the 15-hour journey to Minnesota, Lexie and Samantha were happy and relieved to arrive at our partner organization, Animal Humane Society. Their kind staff and volunteers were excited to welcome the dogs and puppies into their adoption program, and they even gave our staff a tour of their facilities! After a tearful goodbye, Sam and Lexie returned to Oklahoma with the knowledge that their journey meant 18 little lives had been changed forever.

Prudence raised all of these supplies from the OK Humane wish list!

The Girl Scout Bronze award is the highest honor a Girl Scout Junior can achieve. Prudence Lloyd earned that honor in April, 2012 when she chose the Central Oklahoma Humane Society as her charity of choice for her Girl Scout Bronze Award service project. Prudence raised in-kind supplies and cash for the OK Humane animals. Thank you, Prudence, for your commitment to the animals in Oklahoma City. The animals are very lucky to have you on their side!

Christy Counts, President

This spring OK Humane was fortunate enough to be able to orchestrate our first long-distance transport through the Homeward Bound Transport Program. You can read more about this amazing program inside the newsletter. This program is yet another example of the extraordinary measures the OK Humane team is making to save more lives each day. It is hard to believe there are communities in this country that do not have enough rescue dogs to meet the public’s demand. Lucky for us, there are lots of communities wanting our dogs and puppies. We look forward to keeping our supporters posted on the progress we make as this program develops. This is just one of many exciting new programs we have on the horizon. It is our dream at OK Humane to one day no longer have a need to export unwanted dogs and puppies. In this dream, Oklahoma City will be a community that has adopters lined up waiting for us to import rescue dogs from other communities that are overpopulated.

-Christy Counts

The Central Oklahoma Humane Society (OK Humane) is a 100% foster based organization that is dedicated to saving the lives of dogs and cats in Oklahoma City. Our dogs and cats live in foster homes while they patiently wait for their chance to be adopted by a loving family. Due to the fact that OK Humane does not have a shelter facility, we are completely reliant on foster homes to be the stepping stones to a wonderful new home. For those of you who have never considered fostering, I am here to persuade you!

OK Humane’s immediate goal is to end the needless euthanasia of healthy, adoptable pets in Oklahoma City. The majority of our animals are taken directly from the Oklahoma City Animal Shelter and placed into our program for adoption. We can only pull as many animals out of the shelter as we have available foster homes for. This is where you come in!  OK Humane will always provide you with a foster dog or cat that fits within your preferences. If you prefer to foster only female dogs that weigh less than twenty pounds or if you prefer to only foster litters of kittens, we will find exactly what you are looking for. On top of accommodating your foster preferences, OK Humane also provides all of the necessary items to care for your foster animals. This includes crates, food, bedding, treats, toys, and all medical treatment to ensure a foster animals health and happiness. As a foster parent for OK Humane, all you must do is simply open your heart and open your home. We will take care of the rest!

Each time that a foster parent opens their home to an animal, another life is saved. Together, we can achieve our goal and save the lives of hundreds of animals this year. Make room for one more animal in your home and be responsible for saving a life this year.