February is Cat Appreciation Month, and in honor of this special time, Fresh Step cat litter will donate a dollar to the American Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals if you just follow a few easy steps.

Cat-dazzle your own photo today and Fresh Step will donate $1 to the ASPCA!

First, go to the Fresh Step Facebook page. Using their “Cat Pride Sweaters” application, upload a photo of yourself and digitally insert a cat-centric sweater designed by Kellie Pickler over your original clothing, then post the photo before March 16th. That’s all there is to it!

In other words, taking two or three minutes from your schedule will bag a buck that will help prevent cruelty to animals– and let’s face it, even if you’re weighed down by a little post-Christmas debt, doing this for charity can’t bust your budget!

Click here to read more about this kitty-collaboration between Fresh Step, the ASPCA, and Kellie Pickler.

Stephenie is the Lead Veterinary Assistant at our high-volume spay/neuter clinic, OK Humane Place. Stephenie started out as a Veterinary Assistant at our In-House Spay/Neuter Clinic in 2010. Later that year she transferred to OK Humane Place Spay/Neuter Clinic, and was eventually promoted to the position of Lead Vet Assistant.

Stephenie’s day starts early as she assists with checking animals into the clinic and preparing the surgery suite for a busy day. She is responsible for inducing and intubating animals for surgery. Stephenie also supervises two Vet Assistants and helps them monitor animals as they recover from surgery. She and the rest of our amazing surgery team have spayed/neutered 812 animals in the past 19 days alone!

Stephenie, thank you for your hard work and total dedication to the animals in your care. We’re so glad to have you as a part of our team!

If you’re interested in volunteering with Stephanie and the rest of our all-star spay/neuter team at OK Humane Place, fill out our online volunteer application today!

Great job! You, our wonderful friends and supporters, helped to donate 12,500 bowls of pet food to the Central Oklahoma Humane Society!

During the month of October 2011, the Central Oklahoma Humane Society was the animal shelter chosen to benefit from the Purina One – Bowl by Bowl program on Facebook. Our fans joined thousands of animal lovers from across the nation to use the Bowl by Bowl Facebook application to answer questions and share their thoughts about animal welfare. For every four questions you answered, one bowl of pet food was added to our total. We had to meet a goal of 12,500 bowls donated in order to receive any pet food.

You clicked your way to the finish line throughout October, and our goal was met! We just received word that our adoption animals will soon be chowing down on 6,250 bowls of cat food and 6,250 bowls of dog food.

That’s more than 1,024 pounds of cat food and 3,570 pounds of dog food–  enough to feed 100 dogs and 100 cats for more than 2 months!

You made this possible! It’s because of your continued support that we are able to provide care for the animals in our adoption program and fulfill our mission of eliminating the needless euthanasia of animals in Oklahoma City.

We’d also like to thank Purina One for letting us participate in their Bowl by Bowl program, and for donating so many life-saving meals to the animals in our community.

If you are interested  in helping us save the lives of even more animals, donate today or sign up to be an OK Humane volunteer or foster parent.

Give your Valentine a bundle of unconditional love while potentially saving the life of an innocent cat or dog.

From 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Feb. 11 and noon to 5 p.m. Feb. 12, the Central Oklahoma Humane Society will have a special event at its adoption center, 7500 N Western Ave., during which all dogs and cats will be free to adopt.

“So many people may not spend Valentine’s Day with a human companion but could get as much satisfaction with a furry companion,” said Christy Counts, executive director of the Central Oklahoma Humane Society.

The Humane Society is a “no-kill” shelter. All the animals there are transferred from the Oklahoma City Animal Shelter, and many are animals that otherwise would be euthanized.

“We’re dedicated to ending euthanasia,” Counts said. Each dog or cat under the care of the Humane Society is fostered by a volunteer family. The animals are brought to the Humane Society’s adoption center daily by the foster families.

The usual fee for adoption, $150 for dogs and $75 for cats, will be waived for this special event. Each of the 100-plus animals up for adoption will be spayed or neutered, vaccinated, dewormed, microchipped and treated for fleas and ticks.

Additionally, the Humane Society is always seeking volunteers to foster animals in need.

“We call our foster families our front-line life savers,” Counts said.

To learn more

For more information about fostering an animal or about the adoption event, call 607-8991.

Animals up for adoption can be viewed at www.okhumane.org.
Read more: http://newsok.com/adopt-a-furry-valentine-for-free-at-central-oklahoma-humane-society-event/article/3643064#ixzz1kTz2De6h

Heather Stitzel

As Veterinary Assistants at OK Humane’s in-house spay/neuter clinic, Tonja and Heather assist our veterinarian and clinic manager with surgery preparations. They work diligently to ensure that all the animals in their care are properly vaccinated, microchipped, and recover safely and comfortably from their spay/neuter surgeries. Tonja and Heather are also all-stars at cleaning the spay/neuter clinic, which is a difficult task after a day full of dog and cat spay/neuter surgeries! No matter how busy or messy the day, these two are always able to whip the clinic back into shape by closing time. Thanks to Tonja and Heather, animals at our clinic enjoy clean kennels to recover in and shiny floors to walk on- keeping them healthier and happier.

Thank you, Tonja and Heather, for being a part of the OK Humane team! We appreciate your hard work and are thankful for the extraordinary level of care that you provide the animals that visit our clinic.

(If you are interested in volunteering with Tonja, Heather and the rest of our in-house spay/neuter team, fill out our online volunteer application or Sara at 405-286-1229 ext. 5 or Sara@okhumane.org today!)

PetSmart has a variety of canine coats to fit every lifestyle and budget!

Here are some other cold weather rules to remember:

1. Don’t leave your animal in the car. Many people think this rule only applies during summer months, but the reality is that your car will function as a giant freezer to your pet, holding in cold, and causing death.

2. If you’ve recently adopted a puppy and are having a tough time training her to go in the great outdoors, wait out the cold snap by training the newest member of your family to go on paper indoors. (For more info on this, type in “Training dog to potty indoors,” under Google’s search engine).

3. Last, always remember that feral cats and other wildlife may sleep under the hood of your car for warmth. If you think this may have occurred, bang the hood of your car a few times with your open palm: This will give the animal time to escape before you turn your engine on.

Cold weather can create problems for canines and other pets but with a little forethought, you can ensure you’ll have a happy- and healthy- hot dog!

PetSmart has a variety of canine coats to fit every lifestyle and budget!

Last fall Vicki joined our team as a Spay/Neuter Community Liaison. During that time she worked with our community in targeted zip codes to educate the public about the benefits of spay/neuter. She also spread the word about OK Humane Place’s many spay/neuter specials and facilitated many spay/neuter surgeries by assisting the public with transport of their animals.

Vicki recently took the position of Front Office Assistant at OK Humane Place, where she is now the voice of our clinic at 405-947-SPAY! Vicki is responsible for scheduling spay/neuter surgeries for the public, and helping members of the community determine if they are eligible for one of our many spay/neuter specials.

Although Vicki has been at OK Humane for only a short time, she’s become an important asset to our organization. Thank you for everything you do, Vicki! Your enthusiasm for helping animals is contagious, and we’re lucky to have you as part of our team.

If YOU have an animal that needs to be spayed or neutered, give Vicki and our spay/neuter staff a call at 405-947-SPAY(7729) today!

Wanna know a secret? Long, long ago, when dinosaurs walked the earth and Joan Collins was in her prime, I could actually see past my waistline. Okay, so, maybe I’m exaggerating a tiny bit but my point is this: When my doctor and conscience both agree its time to lose weight, it’s time to lose weight!

Since I’m not a calorie-counting type, my alternative to winning the battle of the bulge is to move–and the honest truth is that moving isn’t something that thrills me any more: If it comes to a question of a game of pick-up basketball or a marathon of Jersey Shore, Snooki is going to win every time.

Friday, showing off her fabulous physique!

If you think you don’t have enough time to cut calories with your canine, think again. Many experts agree that twenty minutes of exercise per day extends your life span–so get out there with your dog and get moving!

Jessica joined our team in 2009 as a Vet Assistant with our high-quality, high-volume spay/neuter team at OK Humane Place. She later took on the role of Spay/Neuter Community Liaison, in which she worked directly with our community in targeted zip codes to educate the public about the benefits of spay/neuter and facilitated as many spay/neuter surgeries as possible- leading to a significant decrease of animals entering the Oklahoma City Animal Shelter.

Jessica is also responsible for organizing and facilitating many spay/neuter specials that increase the public’s accessibility to spay/neuter services. So far Jessica has overseen the “Jingle Balls” special that provided $10 neuter surgeries for adult male cats, the “Overpopulation is the Pits” special that provided $25 spay/neuter services for pit bulls and pit bull mixes, and several other specials- including specials for animals in our targeted zip codes. These spay/neuter specials are a key part of OK Humane’s plan for increasing the number of spayed and neutered pets and decreasing the number of animals that end up in our local shelters!

Under Jessica’s supervision, OK Humane Place will hold several vaccination clinics during 2012. These events provide an opportunity to many pet owners for their animals who otherwise might not be seen by a veterinarian at all. Each vaccination clinic is a big undertaking that requires lots of extra work from Jessica and the clinic staff as well as the assistance of many volunteers! With each event serving between 350 – 400 animals, just imagine the positive impact that Jessica and the rest of the clinic staff are able to make on the health and welfare of the animals in our community!

If you have a pet that needs to be spayed/neutered, contact Jessica and the rest of our awesome staff at the OK Humane Place Spay/Neuter Clinic at (405) 947-7729, or visit www.okhumaneplace.org for more information! 

When we adopted Friday as a puppy, the friendly staff at the animal shelter told us that she was at least part German Shepherd. It was only after she had attained adulthood, however, that the vet was able to determine she is also part Husky.

Why is this information important? Because knowing your pet’s heritage can alert you to any potential health hazards you might encounter down the road. (Knowing our girl Friday is part Husky, also explains why her appearance morphs from looking like a German Shepherd in summer to closely resembling a giant, fur ski parka in wintertime!)

Friday doesn't really care whether she's German Shepherd, Husky or French Poodle--she just wants to make sure she gets her dinner!

Our vet explained that with some careful research on Wikipedia and other pet sites, I could have determined this important info on my own. The fact that Friday rarely barks but loves to howl and make an odd yodeling noise, illustrates the fact that she’s more closely related to her wolf ancestors than the average canine.

Researching your pets origins isn’t just interesting– it’s also good for your pet’s health. So. for all of you out there who adopted a pet, enjoy your search in discovering her (or his) history!