OkcPets Magazine July 2022

26 OKC Pets • July / August 2022 Finding Shelter from the Storm No-Kill Policy Prompts Unexpected Response by Ashley Villines, Northern Oklahoma Humane Society F or a little more than a year, the Northern Oklahoma Humane Society has worked closely with the Animal Control unit of the Ponca City Police Department to develop a no-kill program for the community. The effort is an adjunct to the highly successful efforts to address a local program with feral cats. In April and June 2021, two related articles appeared in the local newspaper and on social media. The first article touted the successful efforts to trap, spay/neuter, and release the thousands of feral cats that roam Ponca City. The article focused on the value of the program because it avoided eutha- nasia for the captured felines. The second article explained in detail the plans to be a no-kill community by 2025. Everyone in- volved in the effort — the Humane Society, Animal Control, and our volunteers — was pleased with the publicity, and we all ex- pected community support for the effort. The response was like a tornado that hit with no warning, leaving everyone per- plexed as to what had just happened. We can only assume that a misinterpre- tation of our message led to an immediate inflation of surrendered animals to the shel- ters. Because people were no longer afraid of their animals being euthanized, they began to surrender their pets in huge numbers. Instead of gaining help from the communi- ty, the opposite happened. Humane Society kennels filled up. Animal Control kennels filled up. Our foster homes were filled to capacity. I’m embarrassed to say that we had not seen this coming. It wasn’t even on our radar. We have since learned that other communities across the country have had similar experiences. Why People Surrender Animals So like any good storm chaser unwilling to give up, we studied the data to understand the needs of pet owners to prevent this from recurring. We looked at traditional reasons for surrender: lack of financial resources, cost of veterinarian care, cost of fencing, lack of low-cost spay/neuter op- tions, and inability to proactively rehome one’s pet. We uncovered other factors that have an impact also. For instance, it is very difficult to find rental housing in Ponca City that will allow pets — especially certain “bully” breeds and dogs larger than 25 pounds. In Ponca City, 34 percent of residents live in rental housing. That number has grown by 6 percent since 2010, making it more diffi- cult each year. Even lessors who allow pets might want, say, a $500 deposit, a photo of the dog, or other documentation. I have been in that predicament many times, but I will not move without my dog. And ten- ants who get pets without telling landlords run a risk of being evicted, which might have caused pets to be surrendered to us. The COVID pandemic is another factor. Many people who spent more time at home during the initial months of COVID got lonesome and opted to fill the void by adopting pets. “Fluffy” was really cute as a puppy — just a ball of fuzz with a wagging tail. But two years later, Fluffy isn’t so cute. Fluffy likes to eat. Fluffy needs expensive shots. Fluffy needs to be spayed, at even more cost. And Fluffy likes to chew — two table legs, one pair of shoes, and a homework assignment (or at least that’s what the kid told his teacher). Fluffy’s owner had not thought through the responsibilities of pet ownership. And now Fluffy’s owner doesn’t view Fluffy as a member of the family. So when the owner read about the city’s no-kill policy, it was time to surrender Fluffy. The Northern Oklahoma Humane Society team is excited to partner with Oklahoma Humane Society to provide low-cost spay/neuter and vaccine services in Kay County. Photo courtesy of Calley Lamar, Ponca City News.