TulsaPets Magazine July 2021

16 TulsaPets • July/August 2021 Colleen and I discussed Tulsa’s pet over- population problem and the founding of Oklahoma Pet Collective Society in December 2020. Unlike many area rescues, OPCS has a mission of sending the animals it rescues out of state to areas that are not suffering with overpopulation and mistreatment of animals. Since its founding, the group has transported 75 dogs out of state and has helped close to 200 dogs by housing them at its facility for other local rescues. “We pull many from the animal shelters; we pull from all over the place,” Wood- stock, founder and president of OPCS shared. “Dogs that are on the euthanasia list, we bring them into the facility and make sure they are all vetted, and we do out of state transports.” Thanks to a generous donation from Med Pharm, the group has its own van for transporting dogs. “We have our own van now, and we just did our second transport [in June],” Woodstock said. “We sent out 42 dogs to Minnesota.” OPCS also works with other area rescues to maximize the number of animals it can assist. Another 28 dogs were transported to Minnesota in late June. “We also transport dogs that belong to other rescues. We collaborate with as many rescues as we can on housing the dogs and transporting them,” Woodstock said. “Adoptions are great and much needed, but they are more of a band-aid than fixing the issue, which is overpopulation.” The group does some adoptions, but the vast majority of the animals they pull from shelters or take in off the street end up on their van to either Minnesota or the New England area. Currently, they are doing trans- ports once a month, but Woodstock says she is working to get transports done every two weeks, rotating between the two locations. The group hopes to make its first trek to Maine and New Hampshire this summer, taking between 30 and 45 dogs. A trip that far will take three volunteers and will be a 23-hour drive one way, not including any stops needed along the way. The organiza- tion covers the cost of food and hotel for the volunteers. In addition to transporting animals out of state, OPCS also provides spay/neuter clinics to the public and has plans to offer clinics just for rescue groups in the future. “We have a major overpopulation issue in Oklahoma. We want to work on that by educating and offering a free spay and neuter clinic to low-income [families],” Woodstock said. “We don’t check income; if someone wants to get their dog spayed or neutered, we are just happy about that so we are going to do it. We are going to have a clinic just for rescues also.” At the time of publication, Harvey did not have a spot on a transport and was available for adoption. As for Polo Grill, the verdict from our crew is it is a lovely patio with plenty of shade and amazing food, making it the perfect spot to spend an afternoon with your pooch. Polo Grill 2038 Utica Square (918) 744-4280 Pologrill.com Monday-Thursday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday & Saturday 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Brunch served Friday-Sunday 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Utica Square offers the perfect combination of scenic walks, shopping and fine dining all while including your dog companion. Visit uticasquare.com/dog-friendly to see all of the shops that welcome canines. Oklahoma Pet Collective Society https://www.okpetcollective.org/ @OkPetCollective on Facebook PET-FRIENDLY PATIO REVIEW Angel Woodstock, left, Harvey and Colleen Gable. Petit Medallion Benedict Crab & Goat Cheese Crepes