TULSA, Okla. — Shelter hours are expanding at Tulsa Animal Welfare, allowing for adoptions seven days a week starting on July 21st. This is part of Mayor G.T. Bynum's reform plan, along with steps like increasing staff and improving conditions.
"The overall goal for us is that we want to work towards being a no-kill shelter, and that's an ambitious goal because we have tens of thousands of animals that are euthanized in our shelter every year right now," Mayor Bynum said.
That euthanization number spikes in the summer when more animals are out.
"June and July are usually our time when we are doing the most euthanization for space because you can't have that many animals come in. We also have to look at the quality of life of the animals that are with us," shelter manager Jean Letcher said.
Letcher hopes increased hours for adoption will ease the burden as the city looks to add staff.
"We're smack in the middle of what we call kitten mountain. We're getting between 400 and 500 kittens in every week," she said.
Next steps in the reform plan include adding animal control officers out in the field to respond to complaints of stray dogs impacting safety.
"We don't want anybody in Tulsa to be afraid to walk around their own neighborhood. If there's something we can be doing at the city to improve that we should be," Mayor Bynum said.
Starting on the 21st the shelter will be open from noon to 6:00 on Saturday and noon to 4:00 on Sunday.
Stay in touch with us anytime, anywhere.
Download our free app for Apple and Android and Kindle devices.
Sign up for newsletters emailed to your inbox. Select from these options: Breaking News, Severe Weather, School Closings, Daily Headlines and Daily Forecasts.
