New B-A City Ordinance Has Some Animal Lovers in an UpRoar

There's been a lot of growling over the dogs in the Broken Arrow City animal shelter. Some animal lovers protest a new city ordinance. Broken Arrow Police Captain Norman Stephens thinks their fears

Thursday, December 23rd 1999, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

There's been a lot of growling over the dogs in the Broken Arrow City animal shelter. Some animal lovers protest a new city ordinance. Broken Arrow Police Captain Norman Stephens thinks their fears are out of hand. â€œWe have probably the most liberal holding policy of any city around and thatâ€™s 10 days,â€ he explained. â€œNone of the other cities hold the animals that long.

The controversy comes with the passing of a new ordinance by the Broken Arrow city council. The ordinance basically says that if the animal shelter becomes overcrowded and employees literally cannot bring any more animals into the building, shelter officials can bypass the 10-day holding period. This means the animals can be euthanized before their time is up. But not before certain criteria are met. First, it's obvious the animal is abandoned. Animal control officers must consider the animal "unadoptable." Or the animal is suspected of having rabies. â€œIt's the bad part of the job,â€ said Broken Arrow Police spokesman Norman Stephens. â€œIt's the part of the job we all hate, but necessarily it's part of the job that has to be done.â€

So what happens when a great pet is left in an animal shelter over Christmas? That's when the B-A city animal shelter works with groups like the Animal Rescue Foundation, to make sure the pets find homes. They bring the animals to places like Petsmart, where adoptive families get answers to the tough questions. So they know their responsibilities before they take the pets home.