WASHINGTON COUNTY, Okla. — A beloved no-kill animal rescue group has found new legs north of Collinsville, breaking ground on a new shelter on a two-acre plot of land on April 7.
2 News Oklahoma extensively reported on the dispute between officials in City of Collinsville and Ward Wiseman Animal Haven in the fall of 2024, which ended in the shelter being unsheltered, or moving out.
- Previous coverage>>> 'Displaced but not defeated' | Ward Wiseman Animal Haven talks future
The city declined to continue picking up the tab for utility payments after the rescue's permit expired more than a year earlier.
WATCH: Animal Haven returns: Ward Wiseman breaks ground on new shelter
The April 7 groundbreaking was a celebration after a nearly 18-month wait, board chair Coza Huffman told 2 News, though she said the city and the local chamber of commerce will still provide moral support.
"It was a long road," Huffman said. "We had to work with issues of trying to find land that was zoned properly, that we could get permits for an animal rescue.”
The nonprofit was thrown a bone by now being on county land subjected to fewer zoning restrictions and lower day-to-day costs.
“We were fortunate enough to have someone sell us two acres of their property that we could afford,” Huffman said.
The landowner and longtime Ward Wiseman supporter, Deanna Fulton, had a two-acre plot next to the Washington-Rogers county line at the intersection of East 390 Road and North 4040 Road.
“I was at the city hall meeting when all the craziness was going on (in 2024),” Fulton said.
Before that, Fulton said she never thought she’d sell the land her late father bought more than 50 years ago.
"I think he would like it," Fulton said. "He loved animals. He had horses, but he was a (dog and cat) person as well.”
"We’ve actually adopted a dog from Ward Wiseman many years ago, and it was an older dog. I think it had been there a while, and people aren’t really excited about older dogs. I’m sure my daughter and I will probably be up here as much as possible (to volunteer),” Fulton added.
The shelter expects to fully open by late 2026, after only six to seven months of August Custom Homes constructing the 40-by-60-foot facility, but will remain reliant on mostly donor funds.
Stay in touch with us anytime, anywhere --
- 2 News Oklahoma on your schedule | Download on your TV, watch for free. How to watch on your streaming device
- Download our free app for Apple, Android and Kindle devices.
- Like us on Facebook
- Follow us on Instagram
- Watch LIVE 24/7 on YouTube
