Story by Marilyn King
Dear Tulsa Pet Lovers,
Welcome to the soon-to-be-dog days of Oklahoma summer in August, and to my third issue of TulsaPets Magazine. We do hope you enjoy it and that you spread the word to your friends and family.
First of all, I want to say hats off to our pet-loving Mayor Kathy Taylor. Mayor Taylor’s outspoken concern for the welfare of all our Tulsa pets, especially the homeless ones, is a sign of better things to come for our animals, and the Tulsa pet community lauds you for your support in encouraging adoption and the importance of spaying and neutering. Thank you Mayor Taylor!
I got a call from a breeder the other day wanting to advertise. This wasn’t a puppy-mill breeder, but a local, reputable breeder who breeds high-quality pure bred dogs once a year. I told her I couldn’t accept her advertising, nor could I list her in the directory, as it’s against my magazine’s missions of rescue/adopt and spay/neuter . I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with pure-bred dogs (in fact, I’m pretty sure my rescued Sam here is a pure chocolate lab). My point to her was that when there are no more pure breeds or Heinz 57 mixes at our shelters waiting for homes, then I’ll consider dogs-for-sale advertising (maybe).
After reading the enclosed article on shelter statistics in Oklahoma, I believe it will be some time before statewide conditions improve for the lives of our homeless pets. I do think, however, that Tulsa has the capability to greatly improve the lives of OUR homeless pets, and work towards being a no-kill community, just because of the sheer number of pet lovers that are here. The answer is simple. It starts with responsible pet ownership education for children, adopting from one of our shelters or local rescue groups, and spaying and neutering. If we can all unite and spread those words, then perhaps a difference can be made.
After all, as was quoted by Mohandas Gandhi (and of course “nation” can easily be changed to “city”): “The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.”
Hope you have a super summer, and stay tuned for our October issue!
Sincerely,
Marilyn & Sam
PS I would be remiss in not again thanking all those who have helped me in this endeavor. My advertisers, Langdon Publishing, contributing writers, and Shelter Report sponsors all deserve a big applause. Thank you! And thanks to all the Tulsa pet lovers who have been enjoying the magazine.
