Laughlin Atkinson plays with dogs at Oxford Lafayette Humane Society in Oxford, Miss., Friday, Dec. 2, 2014.
The Oxford-Lafayette Humane Society took in 4,500 animals last year and was forced to euthanize roughly 2,700 while operating with a budget of $430,000. These animals included cats, dogs, African toads, guinea pigs, hamsters, rabbits, iguanas, pet rats and mice.
Executive director for the Humane Society, Jennifer Petermann is glad to see people adopting animals.
“People bring animals here to give the animal the best chance possible, and we probably have more people coming to adopt than most shelters,” Petermann said. “Our goal is to ultimately put out a healthy animal and make an impact.”
Mandatory spay and neuter laws have been enacted in nearly every state and the District of Columbia, excluding Mississippi. These laws help decrease the number of unwanted and homeless animals while also reducing the cost to local and state government for impounding and euthanizing. The humane society is a private, non-profit organization that combats overpopulation with a shelter capacity of 160-170.
According to Petermann, the humane society also has a 40 percent live release rate, which differs from most shelter’s 10-15 percent.
“It’s a telltale sign of the fact that that other states have pretty strict animal laws,” Petermann said. “You can’t just let your dogs breed and breed; you have to buy a license. We don’t have that in Mississippi. There’s no kind of legislation.”
With the abundance of animals at the humane society, the shelter reaches out to rescue and breed specific groups as well as potential owners nationwide. Utilization of social media and websites such as PetFinder have led to high adoption and transfer rates, according to Petermann.
Petermann also said that in January, 164 animals were either adopted or transferred, which is the highest number in the shelter’s history. The number has stayed over 100 for each month since.
“The right picture can speak to a person. We had a gentleman call from Santa Barbara, California, who saw a dog on PetFinder from our website, and was like, ‘that’s my dog,’” Petermann said. “The dog was actually found running alongside Highway 334. We had a volunteer drive her to the airport and she went from being a roadside dog in Mississippi to a beach dog in Santa Barbara.”
Even though other states help seek homes for Mississippi animals, spay and neuter resources are not only not required by the state, but also costly. The humane society receives a yearly donation of $20,000 from Lafayette County and a $130,000 donation from the city of Oxford, according to Petermann. It operates by fundraisers, donations and volunteers.
“There are very few low cost spay and neuter programs to help with the overpopulation problem, which is vastly different from other parts of the country, like the Northeast,” Petermann said. “There, they may have 100 kennels but only eight dogs in them because they just don’t have an overpopulation problem. We speak to them about what goes on here on a daily basis. I think yesterday we got in 19 adult dogs.”
According to the Humane Society’s website, it is suggested by national animal organizations that animal shelters need to spend 25 percent of their annual budget on proactive programs, such as spay and neutering. Due to insufficient funds, OLHS cannot meet these requirements.
The shelter fundraises around the clock, according to Petermann. An annual art auction, “Paws for Art,” takes place in the spring and is the largest fundraiser. Last year the auction raised $60,000, according to Petermann. The goal for this year is $80,000.
“We try and do as many free clinics as we can but that takes a lot of resources, so we only do about two a year,” Petermann said.
The humane society offers free spay and neuter resources in commemoration to National Spay and Neuter Day, which is the last Tuesday of February. According to Petermann spay and neuter day turned into an entire week.
“We spayed and neutered 444 animals, all free, no cost to the city or county,” Petermann said. “Everyone just donated their time and their resources. It shows you that people want to get it done but maybe don’t have the time, resources or funds.”
Along with spay and neutering, vaccinations are given by the shelter on a daily basis. Upon adoption, dogs and cats are fully vaccinated up to what their age requires. They are given heartworm tests and a rabies vaccine and are micro chipped. According to Petermann, they are also supplied with a six-month supply of heartworm prevention and a one-month supply of flea and tick prevention. Dogs receive a free month of shelter insurance, a collar and an identification tag.
Petermann advises that students think about adopting a pet in college.
On Jan. 31, Anna Axton a senior at the university from Laurel, adopted a puppy from the Humane Society after only seeing it twice.
“I immediately knew I had to have her because she reminded me so much of the dog I had growing up, which was also a rescue. I bought Lilly and she is part of my family now,” Axton said.
Despite being in a college town, the humane society does not revolve around student business. Roughly 80 percent of prospective pet owners at the shelter are in search of a dog, while 20 percent are interested in cats.
The shelter does not deny any animal. Wildlife patrol is called in response to foxes, raccoons and squirrels that are brought in.
The shelter hopes that adoption rates will continue to remain strong and that the rate of euthanized animals will decrease.
