OkcPets Magazine January 2022

8 OKC Pets • January/February 2022 Partner Groups Work To Save Shelter Animals by Heide Brandes I n 2020, nearly 90,000 cats and dogs entered Oklahoma’s 120 animal shelters. Of those, about 11,000 were euthanized. That is a big number, but far less than the 18,000 animals that were euthanized in 2019. The reduction is partly because of Common Bonds, a new organization supported by the Kirkpatrick Foundation. Comprised of about three dozen non- profits, organizations, and animal-welfare groups, Common Bonds was created in 2018 as part of the larger overall goal of the Kirkpatrick Foundation to have Okla- homa become the safest and most humane place to be an animal by 2032. Each of the partners of Common Bonds became a collaborative partner to save more shelter cats and dogs in Oklahoma. According to data sourced by Best Friends Animal Society , Oklahoma ranks eighth in the United States for shelter euthanasia. To address that issue, Common Bonds was created with the goal of increasing the statewide live-release rate from the current 73 percent to 90 percent by 2025. “So the common goal is to create this organization that would be charged with Three pooch pals are typical of shelter animals which Common Bonds can help by increasing the number of live releases from Oklahoma shelters. COMMON BONDS