Vega, a greyhound rescued by The Humane Society of Tulsa earlier this year, was adopted Thursday. The humane society needs just eight more adoptions by the end of the year to reach 1,400. DYLAN GOFORTH/The Frontier
With just a handful of days to go before 2017 rears its head, the Humane Society of Tulsa is inching closer to a milestone.
The humane society has nearly accounted for 1,400 “live outcomes” in 2016, a term that signifies animals that were either adopted, transferred to no-kill shelters, or were found as strays and later reunited with their owners.
“It’s a huge number, it’s 1.5 times what it was last year,” Evan Fadem, the humane society’s executive director, said. “We’re extremely pleased, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t still animals here that need to be adopted.
The humane society found itself extremely taxed in 2016 due to several large-scale rescues.
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“We were called out on six major rescues, and we took in over 250 animals in a six-week period … that’s what our team is really good at,” Fadem said.
In March, they were called to a home in Creek County to take in nearly 30 dogs. Less than three months later they rescued 58 chihuahuas from a residence in Tulsa, then days later rescued 70 dogs from a hoarding situation in Bixby.
A few days after that, they took in nearly 20 extra dogs from another rescue in Tulsa County. A case in August saw them rescue nearly 40 greyhounds from Comanche County. One of those greyhounds, a lean brown dog named Vega, was adopted Thursday.
“We’ve had a crazy summer, our staff our team our volunteers have all worked incredibly hard this year,” Fadem said. “To see that we have 1,400 animals is incredible, we’re so proud of that number.”
Following the Bixby rescue, the humane society opened up an emergency shelter. It was set to close in July, but has remained open due to the large need. Animals taken from the large-scale rescues are often in poor health, and many need immediate surgery, so the shelter now stands as an intake facility for animals.
“We’ve moved all of our surgery out there to give our vets more room, as the animals are being spayed, neutered, vet-checked, we move them back (to the Tulsa location,)” Fadem said.
The humane society is a 501(c)3, and donations are tax deductible. They always accept donations of pet food, treats, collars, beds and toys. Monetary donations can be made on the humane society website.
They are also accepting donations to help build a permanent shelter for the animals rescued from hoarding situations and puppy mills.
