Their Journeys through the City of Tulsa Animal Wellfare Shelter
By Nancy Gallimore Werhane
By the end of a typical Tuesday at the City of Tulsa Animal Welfare facility, 57 animals had checked into the shelter. Twenty-four of those 57 animals were owner-surrenders, and 23 were picked up as strays by animal welfare field officers. Of the 23 stray animals, 19 were dogs, four were cats. But this is not a story about statistics. It is the story of one dog, one cat and their journeys though Tulsa’s shelter. I picked a random day of the week and was given a list of all stray animals that entered that day. I visited every one of them. First, I met the dogs.
Kennel 202A, brown/white Pit Bull mix.
Kennel 202B, tan Labrador Retriever mix. Kennel 245A, black/tan German Shepherd mix. Kennel 930, brown/ white English Bulldog. Kennel 215A and B, Great Dane/Boxer mix puppies. Of the 19 dogs I met, all but one shy Rottweiler mix welcomed my attention. Most greeted me at the fence with wagging tails. Kennel 204A held a black and white Labrador Retriever mix whom the staff had dubbed “Harry.” There was definitely something about Harry that drew me back to him. At first glance he was a fairly non-descript black mixed breed dog – a gangly youngster with legs seemingly too long for his adolescent body.
But he had soft brown eyes that brightened when I spoke to him. He had a long tail that swished happily from side to side and then in a circle when he got a bit more excited to be the focus of my attention.
A quick check of Harry’s stats proved unremarkable.
He was found stray, wearing a red collar but no identification tags.
He was about one year old and had yet to be neutered. “OK, Harry,” I told him, “you’re my guy.” I headed on to the cats. My reception by the four young cats that came in that day was a bit different. All were young kittens, and all were feral. I doubt any of them had really ever been handled by humans at all. It’s possible that coming to the shelter was their first close encounter with people. With any domestic animal, proper handling at a very early age is crucial to the animal’s development. My Tuesday kittens had obviously not received that benefit. Nothing but mistrust and fear showed in their eyes and tense little bodies as I looked into their cages.
Cage 701 held a small black kitten with white on its nose, chest and paws. Like its counterparts, kitten 701 hissed at me and stayed to the back of its cage. This was a cute baby, despite its unwillingness to get to know me. “OK, little one,” I whispered, knowing this kitten’s prospects were not good. “You’re it.” And so the story begins of two Tulsa Animal Welfare Shelter occupants.
Upon arrival at the shelter, Harry and the kitten were placed in their respective kennels by animal welfare field officers and entered into the computer tracking program. Like every animal that comes into the shelter, my two strays were checked over by the shelter veterinary staff and vaccinated to keep them healthy during their stay.
Next, it was time to wait. While pets surrendered by their owners can be evaluated for adoption potential immediately upon arrival at the shelter, strays must be held for 72 hours to allow owners the chance to reclaim them. The countdown begins the day after their arrival and does not include Sundays or Mondays when the shelter is not open to the public.
Harry and the kitten came to the shelter on a Tuesday. They were held Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. During that time, Harry and the nameless kitten were monitored by the shelter’s Chief Veterinarian, Dr. Cathy Pienkos, and the veterinary technicians who staff the shelter clinic. Volunteers visited them. People looking to adopt a pet strolled by, pausing to give them a once over. Harry always greeted me with a happy disposition. He had fresh water, and he rested on a comfortable cot. The kennel area was monitored and kept clean by kennel technicians. While Harry’s days might have been a bit boring, he was safe, clean and well fed. He was in the hands of people who cared for his well being. With no real understanding of his situation, Harry seemed happy and content. My black kitten, on the other hand, continued to greet me with growls and hisses. My heart ached a little more with each spat. I knew this kitten’s chances of making it into the shelter’s adoption program were nonexistent. However, despite a lessthan social temperament, my kitten also received excellent care. The litter box was kept clean. There were bowls of fresh food and water, and there was a little box inside the cage that provided a perfect hiding place for a scared kitten.
Friday evening arrived and I checked in with shelter manager, Jean Letcher Jenkins, on the status of Harry and the kitten. Each stray animal that reaches the end of its holding period is then evaluated by the shelter staff, primarily by Dr. Pienkos and her staff, to determine its fate. They make note of how the animal behaved during its initial exam and take into account any notes made in the animal’s record. In Harry’s case, for example, someone had noted that he could be a little hyper but was very friendly. A good review – so that should mean he could make it into the adoption program, right? This brings us to the tricky part. Our shelter is generally That means that even the healthiest, friendliest of animals – dogs like Harry – might not make it into adoption. It becomes a numbers game, meaning the shelter staff has to make difficult decisions. As Jenkins so clearly explains it, 57 animals came into the shelter that one Tuesday, but 57 animals did not leave. There is only so much room.
One of the days I visited, 11 animals were adopted into new homes. Such a very happy ending for those cats and dogs, but if 57 animals came in on Tuesday alone, you don’t have to do the math to understand the situation. Limited space means being a friendly dog, that appears to be in good health, may not be enough to score an adopted family. If kennel space is limited, other factors come into play such as appearance, size and age. In Harry’s case, he was friendly and he was still healthy, but in the strike column, he was a big, black mixed breed dog, a few months beyond the cute puppy stage.
When asked about the Lab mix in Pen 204, Dr. Pienkos thought for a moment and said, “Oh, you mean Harry? He’s a nice boy.” That she could remember one dog out of hundreds was an impressive testimony to her very handson approach, considering the number of animals at the shelter. Dr. Pienkos went on to say that Harry’s chances of being adopted are not great. There are so many dogs like him that pass unnoticed through shelters every day. However, Dr. Pienkos was quick to add that the young dog has a good disposition and, fortunately, there was a little room to spare that day. Harry was going to be safe, at least for the weekend. My kitten was a different story. He, or she, was not friendly. In fact, so not friendly that they couldn’t even handle him/her to determine his/her gender.
Could someone have worked with this kitten to socialize it? Possibly. Was someone available to take on that project for this kitten and so many others? No. Adding to the kitten’s slim chance of adoption was the fact that there were so many other beautiful cats and kittens in adjacent cages – friendly, social and purring at the mere hint of attention. The kitten in cage number 701 was humanely euthanized by lethal injection the next morning. Of my Tuesday animals, two dogs and three kittens were put to sleep on their “release day.” According to Jenkins and Dr. Pienkos, that was a good day. On any other given day of the week, the euthanasia numbers could be much higher. Of course, this lottery would be replayed every day for each animal that passes through its holding period unclaimed.
Managing an overly crowded shelter is not an easy proposition, and I would certainly not want to walk a mile in the shoes of those who have to make such tough life decisions daily. Whatever your mental image is of the managers and employees who work in Tulsa’s shelter, I’m here to tell you that the people I spoke with are people who truly love animals. Jenkins’ office is testimony to that fact. The carpet has been removed in favor of a bare concrete slab floor. The furnishings include crates, litter boxes, pet beds and food and water bowls. The days I visited, there was a bouncy little Chihuahua mix underfoot and several kittens lounging and playing on the desk, computer keyboard and cabinets.
The office doubles as a sanctuary for kittens that need a little time to mature; a place for mother dogs and their new puppies to have a little peace and privacy; a place for a silly Chihuahua to socialize and possibly learn some manners. Visit the staff in the veterinary clinic and they will tell you a little bit about each of the animals in the hospital ward. They will smile at each groggy pet recovering from a spay or neuter because it means they are heading off to new homes. And they will each tell you about their favorite animals in the shelter.
As I write this article, Harry is still at the shelter, waiting for someone to notice his beautiful brown eyes. He is waiting for someone to take him out to the exercise yard, so he can show them he knows to sit and lie down on request. He is waiting, in the midst of so many other hopeful faces, for someone to see what a good dog
13 Pamper Fido for a day and head to one of the many dog spas around town. Have them throw in a dog massage, so Spot will trot out of there with some extra pep in his step.
The day Tigger came to Tulsa’s feline rescue facility, Street Cats, was typical. Unfortunately, his reason for arrival was pretty typical as well. His family no longer wanted him. The staff and volunteers at Street Cats tried to make Tigger feel as comfortable as possible.
