The Nowata Animal Shelter in OK has 23 dogs in need of homes. After hearing rumors that the dogs were going to be shot to death on January 1st, I called the shelter yesterday to ask about the pets there. I was advised that the facility is at full capacity for dogs and some of them have been there for many months. On January 1st, the shelter will evaluate the status of each dog. I asked the method of euthanasia and the ACO I spoke with said he did not know the method but that a veterinarian would do it. I asked if the pound had a gas chamber and he said no. I also inquired about cats at the shelter and he said they have 7, all of whom are available for adoption and space is not an issue for the cats.
The shelter has no website nor does it list its pets online. But it does have something great going for it: a professional photographer who takes beautiful photos of the dogs and posts them on Facebook. Below are a couple of the dogs currently at the shelter with captions provided by the photographer, Sherry Stinson.
If you look through the photos of these dogs, you will notice how strikingly beautiful each one is. Do you think that somehow the Nowata shelter managed to fill its kennels with the prettiest homeless dogs in the country? Of course not. The dogs at every shelter are just as beautiful with just as much personality but they don’t have the benefit of being lovingly photographed by a professional. Non-professionals can do a very good job taking photos too, if they make it a priority. Unfortunately, some shelters don’t seem to care about giving their pets the best possible chance for adoption by getting decent photos to share online. Luckily for the dogs at the Nowata shelter, they have a caring friend in the photography business.
If you’d like to adopt a pet from the Nowata shelter, it’s open Monday through Friday from 8am to 3pm. I asked if they would be closed any weekdays during the holidays and was told they would not. The adoption fee is $20 and the adopter must get the pet vaccinated and neutered at his regular vet clinic.