Press Release

ASPCA^® Selects Oklahoma City as Next Partner Community in National ASPCA Mission: Orange Campaign

April 13, 2009

ASPCA Media Contact

New York—After a year of intensive work resulting in a phenomenal increase from 25 percent  to 36 percent in the Live Release Rate* (LRR) for animals in the Oklahoma City sheltering system, the ASPCA^® (American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) announced today that Oklahoma City Animal Welfare Department (OKCAWD) and Central Oklahoma Humane Society (COHS) have won the competition to full partnership with the ASPCA in the organization’s national ASPCA^® Mission: Orange^™ campaign. Originally, seven communities vied for the honor, and were later pared down to three: Oklahoma City, Cleveland, Ohio and Ashville, North Carolina.

The distinction as an ASPCA Mission: Orange partner community means a sharp increase in dollars, staffing and other resources from The ASPCA–an intensified partnership in every way–so that Oklahoma City can achieve a dramatic and sustainable increase in happy endings for shelter dogs and cats and the people who care about them. 

“We are working together to set a specific three-year target for Oklahoma City’s LRR, a target that will be both aggressive and achievable,” says Bert Troughton, Senior Director of Community Outreach for the ASPCA. “We have seen that these two organizations and this community mean business when it comes to saving lives.  Their enthusiasm, determination, and follow-through make them a perfect candidate to advance life-saving best practices for the rest of the animal protection field.”

The ASPCA Mission: Orange campaign aims to provide positive outcomes for shelter animals by increasing live release rates through adoptions, transfers to other adoption agencies, and returns-to-owner.  The ASPCA is investing up to $1 million in funding and resources in Oklahoma City, as well as in its other partner communities, which to date include Austin, Tex., Gulfport-Biloxi, Miss., Philadelphia, Pa., Spokane, Wash.; Tampa, Fla.; and Charleston, N.C.

Under the leadership of Catherine English, Superintendent at OKCAWD and Christy Counts, President and Executive Director at COHS, Oklahoma City won national recognition in January 2008 when it became one of only three communities nationwide selected to participate in a year-long competitive effort to become the next ASPCA Mission: Orange partner community.  Since then, leaders, staff and volunteers at both agencies have worked on everything from changes in animal housing and care procedures to updating policies and promoting adoptions. 

For example, both agencies are implementing the ASPCA’s Meet Your Match^® family of adoption programs, which includes research-based animal behavior assessments—all aimed at increasing adoption and reducing return rates at shelters, thus combating the problem of pet overpopulation. ASPCA’s Meet Your Match is the only method in existence that scientifically evaluates an animal’s behavior and interests and then matches them to an adopter’s preferences.

As a result, both agencies are enjoying improved client relations and more and better adoptions.  Since they began working with the ASPCA, OKCAWD and COHS increased adoptions by nearly 3,000 cats and dogs (2008 over 2007), and in January and February 2009, adoptions rose by 400 placements compared to the same two months in 2008. 

In addition to internal policy and procedure improvements at both OKCAWD and COHS, both agencies have promoted transparent, productive relationships with government officials, public leaders and community citizens, resulting in such positive changes as increases in volunteers and foster families, and a big increase in daily visitors to the facilities.  In March alone, there were over 9,400 visitors to the City’s animal shelter.  

“These two agencies have proven that they care about the animals in our community by raising awareness of their plight to public officials and ordinary citizens alike,” said Mayor Mick Cornett. “The dilemma of homeless pets is not just a shelter problem, it’s a community problem, and they are doing a great service to the animals and public alike by bringing attention to the issue.”

The ASPCA Mission: Orange partnership in Oklahoma City will kick off in July with strategic planning and construction of a three-year plan to achieve the highest possible Live Release Rate for the community’s at-risk pets.  In the meantime, ongoing efforts to increase both adoptions and targeted spay/neuter are underway, and in May, OKCAWD and COHS staff and volunteers will learn all about dog personalities during ASPCA’s Meet Your Match: Canine-ality™ training, part of a series made possible, in part, by the Kirkpatrick Family Foundation.  OKCAWD and COHS are also collaborating on a feral cat program that has neutered more than 2,500 cats to date, and COHS will open its second high-volume spay/neuter clinic in June.

“Already, this community has proven its ability to raise the standards for better outcomes for unwanted animals,” said the ASCPA’s Ms. Troughton. “The ASPCA’s goal is to help them get to a sustainable level, so they can continue their life-saving work in Oklahoma City, and we can assist in more communities.”

For more information about ASPCA Mission: Orange, please visit: www.aspca.org/adoption/aspca-mission-orange.

*Live Release Rate (LRR) refers to the percentage of animals that leave the sheltering system alive through adoption, return to owner, or transfer outside of the partner organizations. The formula for calculating LRR is total number of live releases divided by intake. By contrast, the term “save rate” often includes any animal that has not been euthanized, such as those whose outcome is not yet known or those still in the sheltering system. For this reason, the calculation for live release rate will usually show a different percentage than save rate.

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ASPCA Mission: Orange^™ is a partnership with communities to increase the live release rate, saving the animals most at risk. This initiative focuses a collective effort on sustainable, data driven plans and programs that engage local community members to reunite lost animals with their families, increase adoptions, target spay/neuter and support feral cats.

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