The work that city animal shelters and animal control officers do can be difficult and demanding. It is also work that is critically important in improving animal welfare and responsible pet ownership in Oklahoma. 

OAA’s primary purpose is to bring together the people and resources needed to overcome pet homelessness, abuse, and neglect. We work with a matrix of animal welfare groups including animal control officers and shelter managers, rescue groups, veterinarians, donors, etc. Our Unchain OK program seeks to improve the lives of dogs subjected to living on chains by providing resources and helping the owners to humane alternatives to chaining. Our Fix OK program seeks to promote spay/neuter to reduce the homeless pet overpopulation crisis in this state and to promote responsible pet ownership that includes spay/neuter.

We invite you to contact us any time you find an owner who needs a little support (such as a doghouse or dog food) to better care for their pets. We are happy to help; if we don’t have a volunteer in the area then we will network to help find resources and support. 

Below is a list of partial resources that OAA can offer to city animal shelters and animal control officers. 

• Training — OAA works with local partners, including the Humane Society of the United States, to offer free CLEET-certified law enforcement training on puppy mills, dogfighting, cockfighting, and illegal animal abuse.
• Local Ordinances — OAA supports city ordinances requiring spay/neuter, anti-tethering, bringing animals indoors during extreme temperatures, etc. 
• Necropsies — When investigating a cruelty case that results in an animal’s death, a necropsy (autopsy of an animal’s body) may be conducted to determine the cause of death. If such documentation is part of your process to file criminal charges and your shelter does not have the funds to pay for the necropsy, then OAA can help subsidize the cost and may be able to transport the body to the state lab in Stillwater.
• Supplies — OAA’s generous donors provide doghouses, dog food, and pet supplies to help animals in need. If you find an owner who needs help, we can network to provide resources. Educating owners about responsible pet ownership is a long-term strategy to improve animal welfare in this state, and providing resources helps the animal and helps to create opportunities to talk with owners about responsible pet care.
• Adoption Events — OAA and local rescue groups regularly participate in adoption events. 
• “Gimme Shelter” Free Shelter Plans — Through funding provided to OAA for “Gimme Shelter,” a set of plans was created for humane holding facilities that could easily be constructed by a municipality, county or tribal government with relatively low population and constrained revenue. The purpose is to bridge the gap between large well-funded shelters in urban areas and a complete lack of sheltering and other solutions that are common throughout many parts of our nation. These plans are distributed by Oklahoma Alliance for Animals free-of-charge to encourage low-income communities to use good quality solutions instead of “making do,” with makeshift solutions that are inhumane and waste money over time.

(LEO and Animal Control Forms are password protected. Email info@animalallianceok.org from your government email to request password.)