OU students who love animals can do work-study or volunteer work at the Norman Animal Shelter. The shelter's new building, which opened this summer, is a major improvement for the shelter, said Mike Stogsdill, animal control superintendent.
"We want to make this facility community-friendly and volunteer-friendly," said Stogsdill said. "We could use a couple of them [volunteers]."
The shelter gets some volunteers from fraternities and sororities, whose members need community service hours.
Drew Branum, marketing and international business junior, said she volunteered for a different local animal shelter last spring. She and her friend walked dogs as part of their community service for Kappa Alpha Theta sorority.
"We had a great time," Branum said. "Those dogs don't get out much."
Volunteers and work-study employees can do a variety of other jobs at the shelter, including bathing animals, cleaning kennels and just giving the animals attention, said Henry Baskeyfield, animal welfare officer for the shelter.
The shelter is developing other new features including a new surgery center and an improved Web site.
"Soon we'll be able to put pictures on the Internet," said Stogsdill. "So many people are comfortable with the Internet. We need more visibility."
One major issue all shelters face is overpopulation, which leads to unwanted animals.
Animal abandonment is a big problem at the beginning of the summer, Baskeyfield said. The end of the spring semester is a peak moving time for families and OU students, and people often don't take their animals with them.
Right now the shelter takes in about 100 to 150 dogs and cats a month, Baskeyfield said. Baskeyfield, who has worked for the animal shelter for 26 years, said that number used to be as high as 400 to 500 a month. He attributes the lower numbers to better education about the importance of spaying and neutering pets.
"We are trying to teach people about being better pet owners," Baskeyfield said.
City Councilman Doug Cubberely said he wants to help the shelter because of his love for animals. The shelter is in Ward 7, which Cubberely represents.
All animals come with a certificate to have the animal fixed for free, which area veterinarians will honor, Baskeyfield said.
"Our problem is, no matter if it is free, we still have people who don't take advantage of it," Baskeyfield said. "We have to rely on people to be responsible."
"Only 50 percent of the pets get fixed (before they leave the shelter)," Cubberely said. "The goal is for all dogs over six months to be fixed."
The shelter is trying to equip its new medical facility so veterinarians can spay and neuter animals on-site.
"It is still in the planning stages," Baskeyfield said.
Baskeyfield said he hopes to have these projects running soon.
It's a matter of manpower, and the animal shelter needs all the volunteers it can get, Baskeyfield said.
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