WAGONER, Okla. — Residents have been concerned about the Wagoner animal shelter for years, but it's becoming a bigger issue.
Wagoner City Councilor Nathaniel Wilson posted about the facility on his Facebook page, and the people in his comments were furious.
WATCH: Conditions at Wagoner animal shelter raise concerns
"The state of the facility is insane," Wilson said. "You can't really describe that."
I walked with Wilson to the shelter, and although we didn't go inside, the smell was strong enough to pick up. The condition of the building, clearly below standard. Nearby, an outdoor freezer with dead animals inside.
“The inhumane disposal of animals is a big no-no," Wilson said.
While at the shelter, we ran into the animal control officer doing his best to help keep up with the building. But when he called to get permission, he was told he couldn't speak with us. We were also told we couldn't be near the shelter due to an electric facility nearby. In a statement from the city of Wagoner, we're told that's because "the shelter area is restricted to employees only for liability and safety reasons."
"It can't be safe for the man that's standing there working next to it," Wilson said. "Day in and day out."
Wilson also was frustrated because he doesn't feel like he's gotten answers as to who's responsible for fixing the shelter.
"The city's blaming it on the police department, the police department says talk to the city," Wilson said. "It's a city building, city property, according to the assessor. It's a city problem. And we can't look past it anymore."
I tried getting answers. I called the mayor of Wagoner, who passed me on to the chief of police. The department, sending me to city public relations. In that statement, the city saying, "the shelter was built in the late 1970's," adding "if our community is willing to provide support and funding for a new shelter, we would love to see that happen."
Wilson says he'd love to see that, too.
"We have to get a new building today, and we have to figure this out now," Wilson said. "Because this is unacceptable. It's unsanitary and it's unacceptable."
As for the dead dogs being stored in the outdoor freezer, the city says it wasn't aware of that and that there's a "fully operational indoor freezer designed for storing deceased animals."
Here is the complete statement from the City of Wagoner:
Thank you for reaching out! With your help, we can raise awareness about the seriousness of our situation and secure the much-needed support from our community. Over the years, the animal shelter has faced numerous challenges due to limited resources and ongoing issues related to responsible pet ownership within our community. Most animals arriving at our shelter are unwanted strays or surrendered pets, many of whom have not received adequate care. This situation further impacts the conditions at our facility, as they often come to us unvaccinated, unspayed, and unneutered. We do our best to care for them by providing food, shelter, and outdoor time twice daily while helping them learn to trust humans again. Our goal is to find them forever homes through our Facebook page. Unfortunately, we are often their last resort, as their previous owners have failed them. We welcome community support and engagement to address this serious issue.
The shelter was built in the late 1970s, and our staff works hard to maintain it with limited resources. If our community is willing to provide support and funding for a new shelter, we would love to see that happen, as it would help resolve problems inherited over many decades. Access to the shelter area is restricted to employees only for liability and safety, as the city yard houses significant electrical infrastructure and heavy machinery.
We were not previously aware of the issue regarding the outdoor freezers. The old freezer failed and should have been disposed of by a former employee. We will address this matter immediately. We do have a fully operational indoor freezer designed for storing deceased animals. Our animal control officer uses it for this purpose, as we occasionally find deceased animals in trash cans and dumpsters throughout our community. Unfortunately, even our parks and recreation employees have had to recover deceased animals that were dumped in our public trash cans by residents.
I work closely with our animal control officer to find homes for the dogs that come to us. Sometimes, it takes several weeks of sharing their pictures on Facebook and a bit of pleading, but we have successfully found dozens of homes during my three years with the city. Our animal control officer also works hard to reach out to other rescues for foster care for these dogs until they can be adopted. Unfortunately, we are currently unaware of anyone stepping up to provide that support in Wagoner, but this is a need, and we would love to see someone take on that responsibility. Thankfully, we have an incredible partnership with Purr-a-Lot, a local cat rescue, which has taken on vital tasks like spaying, neutering, vaccinating, and rescuing felines in our community. Two weeks ago, they even helped us get a dog vaccinated so she could be adopted and go to her forever home.
We also want to give a huge shout-out to Larissa Dodson from What the Fluff grooming. She is a local groomer who generously offers free grooming for many of our dogs before they head to their forever homes.
Here are some ways our community can help:
- Spay and neuter your pets.
- Vaccinate and microchip your pets. At a minimum, please ensure they wear a collar with identification information to help us reunite them with you if they get lost.
- Donate to the Wagoner Police Department Animal Control.
- Share our Facebook posts when we have dogs looking for homes.
- Consider fostering a dog while we work to find them a permanent home.
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