OK Animal Welfare policy change sparks controversy

Oklahoma City Animal Welfare has launched a new managed intake policy aimed at reducing overcrowding in the city’s animal shelter. Under the policy, residents who find healthy stray animals are asked to either leave them where they were found or hold onto them while seeking out their owner. Advocates argue it puts too much responsibility on residents and ignores long-term overpopulation issues.

Erin Kerrigan, Animal Advocate

Q: What do you think of this new managed intake policy?

A: "This is a policy that’s become very popular, increasingly popular across the U.S. over the last couple of years. They call it community sheltering. And it does have some upsides... it lowers your euthanasia rate... it also tends to be better for shelter staff... but my opinion, at least, is that it is very bad for the community as a whole."

Q: Why do you think it's a problem?

A: "They base it on this statistic... that the largest percentage of lost pets are found within a mile of their home... but that statistic is about recently lost owned animals with owners looking for them. And that’s a very small piece of the pie of what comes into OKC Animal Welfare on a daily basis... it completely ignores the dumped animals, the abandoned animals, the long-term street dogs, the community dogs, the owned dogs that are just allowed to run free."

Q: Is it realistic to ask people to hold onto a stray dog or cat?

A: "It can be, and it can also be a dangerous thing for people to do if they don’t know what they’re doing... A lot of animals coming in off the streets are unvaccinated... If you don’t have a place you can quarantine them or keep them separate... there are some safety concerns with asking people to just house animals off the streets."

Q: What would you tell city officials about this new approach?

A: "I would be talking to them about long-term thinking, because our problem is overpopulation, and putting unaltered animals back on the street only increases that problem... So what I would ask is, how does this solve Oklahoma City's animal crisis? Not today, but next year and the year after that?"

Q: The city is building a new shelter. What do you hope to see in that facility?

A: "It doesn’t increase our capacity very much, but it will be a much nicer building... I think the missing piece here for us in Oklahoma City is capacity for spay/neuter. We can't meet need right now... fosters for the shelter are waiting up to six months to have their fosters fixed... I want to see more money for vets. I want to see that capacity go up—again, long-term thinking."

Ronnie Schlabs, OKC Animal Welfare Superintendent

Q: How long have you been in this position?

A: "I started on the 24th of March... so would that make this the end of second week?"

Q: Why is the city implementing this new managed intake policy?

A: "The shelters in a capacity crisis... checking numbers this morning, our dog capacity is currently at 119%... the concept behind a managed intake policy like this is to help take some stress off of the shelter so we can get the animals in our care through their surgeries, get them healthy, get them adopted, get them transferred to rescue partners and make space."

Q: What kinds of animals is the shelter still taking in?

A: "What we’re focusing on is people bringing in healthy strays over the counter... What we are taking in over the counter is anything that's sick, injured, or that’s been reported as being menacing or a danger to the public, because public safety is a priority for us."

Q: You're asking people to hold on to healthy stray animals or leave them where they were found. Can you explain that?

A: "If they find a healthy pet... file a found report with us here at the Animal Welfare facility... there are several social media pages... that they can reach out to with photographs and where the animal is found to help encourage the animal to get back home without resulting in coming here to the shelter."

Q: Some people worry this puts unaltered animals back on the streets. Is that a valid concern?

A: "There are going to be the chance that some of that could happen. I can't say that it won’t... but the best way to help combat that is for pet owners to be responsible in spaying and neutering their pets... Unfortunately, we are booked out several months, but we are working... trying to find solutions to help expedite that."

Q: Will the new shelter building change this policy?

A: "The capacity will be higher in our new facility. Unfortunately, that facility is at least two years away... So yes, this policy is supposed to be temporary... what we don’t want to do is... move in a new place and instantly be full again. We need the community support, and we need to get a culture change where everybody is really focused on responsible pet ownership."

Q: What can community members do right now to help?

A: "Encourage their neighbors to keep their animals properly confined... report those [sick, injured, or dangerous] so animal welfare officers can come out and keep them safe... If you’re not comfortable holding [a healthy stray], totally understand... but report where you see it. Get it posted on the social media... to get it reunited."

Q: Can people still bring a stray in to get scanned for a microchip?

A: "Scanning is something you can definitely do. Also, most veterinarians and several pet stores have scanners available... contact your local vet or neighborhood vet, and I'm sure they'd be willing to scan for you." 

To help lost pets get home safely, Oklahoma City residents can:

1. Take a clear photo and submit a found pet report at okc.gov/animalwelfare.
2. Post signs in the area where the pet was found.
3. Share the pet’s information on neighborhood apps and social media.

The Shelter has a multi-pronged approach to help solve Oklahoma City’s pet overpopulation crisis:

1. Leaving lost pets in the areas where they are found.
2. Limiting shelter intake.
3. Educating residents on responsible pet ownership.