Sand Springs Animal Welfare officials hoping there’s more to ‘Empty the Shelters’ event than just a name – Tulsa World

Animal shelters and rescue groups traditionally have breathed the tiniest sigh of relief each year when fall arrives. Although the challenges never fully go away, getting past the nightmare of kitten and puppy season each year is a milestone.

But animal rescue experts fear that those sighs of relief are things of the past.

Shelters are seeing soaring numbers of pets being surrendered due to the economy and the housing crisis, according to the Bissell Pet Foundation.

More stray animals are being brought in every day, no matter the season, and more adoptable pets are being euthanized than they have been in years past because shelters are simply too full to house them all.

Its from that battle-weary perspective that Sand Springs Animal Welfare Coordinator Tracy Arvidson sees the smallest ray of hope the Bissell Pet Foundations fall national Empty the Shelters event.

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More than 280 animal shelters in 42 states will offer reduced-price adoptions during the Oct. 1-8 event.

Empty the Shelters is the largest funded adoption event in the country and has helped more than 117,615 pets find homes in 47 states and Canada since its inception in 2016.

Through the Empty the Shelters campaign, the Bissell Pet Foundation underwrites a portion of the adoption fees at participating shelters, leaving adopters to pay no more than $50 per animal.

In the Tulsa area, Sand Springs Animal Welfare is joined by the Humane Society of Tulsa and the Washington County SPCA in Bartlesville in participation.

TheEmpty the Shelters events do well for us, Arvidson said.

She said the Sand Springs shelter is as overfull today as it has been for a number of months.

Twice since mid-June the shelter has sounded the alarm that it was at the precipice of having to euthanize healthy, adoptable pets simply because of capacity problems.

According to the Humane Society of the United States, the euthanasia of healthy, adoptable cats and dogs in U.S. shelters had fallen to its lowest point in history recently, but the Bissell Pet Foundation said in July that the euthanasia rate for homeless dogs was up 22% in the first quarter of 2022 alone.

Although the Sand Springs shelter technically has more cats and kittens than dogs at the moment, its able to house more cats in a single pen because litters of kittens can be kept together.

With the dogs, we have to keep them more separate due to fighting over food, Arvidson said, so we are actually more overcrowded with dogs.

She said before last falls Empty the Shelters event that potential adopters through Sand Springs Animal Welfare complete an adoption contract and are interviewed at the shelter so staff members can try to match them with the right pet.

Plus, adoption through the shelter is pretty much a no-risk proposition, Arvidson said. If by some chance the match doesnt work out, adopters can return the pet to the shelter.

Even mostly successful matches might need a helping hand, though, and thats where the shelters resources come into play.

Besides an adoption package that includes spaying or neutering and vaccinations, a free month of coverage through a pet insurance group and a free week of online behavioral training, shelter staff members can help adopters find resources such as trainers, groomers and other necessities.

Shelter staff members also email adopters periodically to check in and make sure everything is going well, Arvidson said.

Cathy Bissell, who founded the Bissell Pet Foundation in 2011, said this has been a challenging year for our nations animal shelters. The devastating increase in owner surrenders has left thousands of socialized, house-trained and leash-trained pets desperate to find a home.

Our fall Empty the Shelters will support the adoption of thousands of pets across the country, helping shelters in this critical time, she said. Opening your home to a shelter pet saves a life and creates space to give another pet a chance.

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Sand Springs Animal Welfare officials hoping there's more to 'Empty the Shelters' event than just a name - Tulsa World