'This Is For All The Shelters In Oklahoma': Washington County SPCA Asks For Help Adopting Animals

A Washington County shelter is asking for help after they say they are full of dogs who need to be picked up or adopted.

Staff says this is a problem at shelters all across Green Country.

The Washington County SPCA says they take in hundreds of animals each month and their biggest problem right now is getting dogs adopted.

The shelter says having too many animals and not enough space has been a problem years in the making because of the pandemic four years ago.

"A lot of places weren't able to do low-cost spay and neuter clinics,” said Tonya Pete, the CEO of the Washington County SPCA. “So it kind of created a backlog of animals getting fixed and now we’re seeing the effects of that.”

Pete says one way people can help is by checking to see if they have a lost pet at the shelter.

Even if you don't see them on our lost and found page,” said Pete. “Come and do a walk-through."

Pete says every adoption clears up more space for dogs to get adopted.

"Now would be a great time because we need to open up kennels for the dogs in our pound facility to move over to the adoption floor and we can't do that without adoptions,” said Pete.

She says it’s a good idea if you have a pet to get it microchipped, which they are holding a free clinic for on April 6th.

“If it does come into the shelter, we know where it belongs,” said Pete.

They say these problems are happening at shelters across Oklahoma, so regardless of where you live, it’s important to adopt and take care of your animals.

"This isn't just for our shelter, this is for all of the shelters in Oklahoma,” said Pete. “We just need the community's support. If you have an animal, spay and neuter it, microchip it. If you want a pet, don't buy one, come and adopt one from an animal shelter."

If you don’t want to adopt an animal but do want to help the SPCA, you can apply to be a foster or also send donations of paper towels and canned pet food.

For more information about the Washington County SPCA, CLICK HERE.