TULSA — Tulsa Animal Welfare has added two positions to their shelter after receiving a $130,000 grant from the Arnall Family.
The two positions will focus on bringing in new volunteers and providing struggling pet owners with resources to prevent them from leaving pets at the shelter.
Staff at the shelter said these two positions will help them continue to lower the number of animals they are forced to euthanize.
“If we could reduce the number of animals that are surrendered to us we would see our intake numbers go down and once our intake goes down we can make more room and hold on to the animals we have longer,” Tulsa Animal Welfare manager Jean Fletcher said.
As the new pet diversion and help line coordinator, Kaylin Yockey, will help pet owners with tasks like finding accidental litters foster homes or helping overwhelmed pet owners with resources to prevent them from giving up and turning in their pet.
“The less animals coming in the less animals being euthanized” said Yockey.
Michael Ita is the new volunteer and outreach coordinator and in her position, she says she’ll help recruit and organize volunteers to work at the shelter, at adoptions events, and encouraging others to visit the shelter by posting about their animals on social media.
“We don’t have a budget for marketing so more volunteers really help us,” said Ita.
Shelter staff say they were forced to euthanize 2,700 animals in 2018. Although that is a historical low, according to Tulsa Animal Shelter records, staff say they want that number to be lower.
“We are currently sitting at a 65% live release rate,” said Ita. "I want us to get it to a 90% live release rate. This is a community problem so we are going to need the community’s help to solve it.”
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