TULSA, Okla. — More than $2 million is going to Tulsa's Animal Welfare Shelter, as part of the $639 million Improve Our Tulsa renewal package. All that money will be put toward much-needed upgrades to help the animals staying there.
Plans for an upgrade were made a decade ago, but the money is just now coming in to make them a reality. Tight room, limited resources, and an increased traffic flow have made upgrading the 20-year-old Tulsa Animal Welfare Shelter necessary.
"What makes a better environment for both cats and dogs, making the space less stressful for them while they are here, is an important part of what we'll be looking at," said shelter manager Jean Letcher.
In the first Improve Our Tulsa, the shelter got more than $3 million, but only spent a portion of it because what they need is going to cost much more.
Letcher says the shelter can now address needs for an adoption center, expanded hospital, and isolation area.
The isolation area would help fight the spread of disease when a sick animal enters the shelter. The adoption center will help address heavier traffic now coming through the door; the shelter sees nearly 4,000 adoptions per year, compared to less than 2,000 per year 10 years ago.
"As we've expanded our outreach into the community, we have added people, and need more space," Letcher said.
The next step is to figure out how to make the renovations without closing down.
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