Broken Arrow Opens New Animal Shelter

Rick Wells, News On 6

BROKEN ARROW, Oklahoma -- Animal shelters across Oklahoma process thousands of lost and homeless animals every year.

The shelters are often dark, dingy places, not at all the kind of place you would go to find a new pet. Broken Arrow has a new building, that by comparison, is a palace.

Broken Arrow Animal control Director Lanny Dampf is very proud of his new shelter.

"We want people when they take an animal to have a real good idea of what they are taking home," Dampf said.

He says the new shelter will help accomplish that. It's designed so folks can wander around on their own and take their time.

There's lots of glass and windows some at just the right height to see what you need to.

When you find what you think you want there are two "get acquainted" rooms out front where you can play and… get acquainted.

The facility doesn't fell confined, that's what they had before. The old place was dark and small. The 2008 bond issue paid for the new shelter, Tulsa architects Selser and Schaefer designed it.

The BA shelter answers about 640 calls every month, and they process nearly 4000 animals every year.

"Our job as animal control is to help animal find a home," Dampf said.

And they seem to have built a facility to make that part of the job much easier.

The shelter is hosting a big Grand Opening Animal Palooza this Saturday.